The Twins Who Lived and the Sorcerer's Stone
by Natural-Territory
Summary: What if Harry Potter had been born as girl? But take it one step further - what if Harry had been born as twin girls? This is the story of Tabitha and Matilda Potter, who are about to learn that their normal lives with their awful family are anything but. Learning that they're witches and famous as well was strange enough, but now they and their new friends have a school to save..
1. The Girls Who Lived

**This story is now fully edited.**

**This was my first fanfiction, and is very close to my heart. I adore these characters, and I hope you will too. Please note that the sequel to this, The Twins Who Lived and the Chamber of Secrets, has FINALLY BEEN EDITED AND WILL BE UPDATED WITH A *NEW* CHAPTER SHORTLY.**

_**Enjoy!**_

* * *

_**T**__**he **__**T**__**wins **__**W**__**ho **__**L**__**ived **__**a**__**nd **__**t**__**he **__**S**__**orcerer's **__**S**__**tone**_

**Chapter 1: The Girls Who Lived**

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley who lived at Number Four, Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last sort of people who you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or unusual, because they just didn't hold wih such nonsense.

But then on the night of October thirty-first, something happened in the exact world they hated so much.

Vernon Dursley had noticed strange things all day: funny looking people in cloaks, fireworks, owls flying hither-pither, and a very small, squeaky man had even hugged him!

On his way to his car at the end of the day, he overheard a whispered conversation that greatly worried him between of the several cloaked people.

"…Yes, the Potter's…"

"That's what I heard…their daughters, the twins…"

"Tabitha and Matilda, yes, that's what Horace told me…"

Vernon Dursley's large, shiny forehead wrinkled. Potter was the last name of Petunia's dratted sister and her husband. And – unless he was mistaken – Tabitha and Matilda were the names of their daughters. Could that mean that whatever was going on was related to…_their _kind?

He shook himself, thinking that he was being silly. He was sure that the names weren't the same…and Potter wasn't a very uncommon name…perhaps Taylor and Megan were the twins' names.

Yes, that would be it. He straightened up, feeling better, and enjoyed a nice drive home, yelling at other drivers and trying not to get caught speeding.

After dinner that night – and following a very unusual news alert about owls and fireworks, Vernon decided to hesitantly approach the subject with his wife.

"Er – Petunia?"

She nodded to show she was listening.

"What were the names of the…Potter girls? Taylor and Megan, weren't they?"

Petunia stiffened as she always did when the subject of her sister came up. Her lips tight, she answered, "Tabitha and Matilda. Nasty common names, you ask me."

"Quite." Agreed Vernon, but privately he was worried. What were the possibilities of twins with the same names as their relatives linked to strange events? He tried not to think about it…

After all, he thought later that night, there was no way it could affect them, whatever it was.

"I should have known you would be here, Professor McGonagall."

The man had long, silvery hair, a beard equally as long, and was dressed in dark blue robes. He was on a street where everything from his name – which was Albus Dumbledore – to his buckled boots, was unwelcome, but the street was dark, thanks to a nifty device in his pocket.

He sat down on the brick wall outside Number 4, next to a tabby cat that had been there the whole day.

Slowly the cat changed until it was a person, and the stern-faced woman wore square spectacles that were quite similar to the markings that had been on the cat's face.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked crossly.

Albus Dumbledore's eyes glittered behind his half-moon spectacles. "My dear Professor, never in my life have I seen a cat sit that stiffly."

The woman sniffed disdainfully.

The two sat in silence for a moment, but then Minerva could take it no longer.

"Are the rumours true then, Albus?" she demanded. "Is – is he really…?"

Dumbledore nodded in response to her unfinished question. "It certainly seems that way, Minerva."

"And – and the Potters?" she asked, sniffing slightly. "Are they–?"

"I'm afraid so," said Dumbledore gravely, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to her. "Only the girls survived."

"But how?" cried Minerva. "How could two little girls stop _him_?"

"That, Minerva, is something I do not know."

A few minutes later, a giant motorbike landed on the street with a crash. Both professors stood up, looking totally unalarmed, and walked over to greet the man riding the bike.

If the bike was huge, it was nothing compared to the one who rode it. He stood twice as tall as a normal man, and several times as wide. He had wild black hair and a beard to match, but his black eyes were kind and gentle.

"Professor Dumbledore sir, Professor McGonagall," said the man gruffly. He reached into his enormous jacket and pulled out first one bundle, then two. They both fit easily in his trash-can lid sized hands, and he held them carefully before passing them to Dumbledore. "They fell asleep just as we was flyin' over Bristol."

Dumbledore carried the bundles over to the doorstep of Number Four.

"Do you really think it wise, Albus?" asked Professor McGonagall nervously, following him. "I've watched these people all day, and they're the worst sort of Muggles imaginable! I saw the boy kicking his mother as they walked down the street, screaming for sweets! These girls will be famous! There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know their names!"

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, setting down the babies. "They're better off growing up away from all that." He tucked a letter into the blanket of one of the twins – Tabitha, to be exact.

The twins couldn't know what would happen the next day – being awoken by their Aunt's scream as she went to put out the milk – or in the months to follow – being poked and pinched by Dudley.

They never even imagined what would happen in the summer of their eleventh birthday…


	2. The Twins Get Letters

**Chapter 2: The Twins Get Letters**

"Get up! Get up!" yelled Aunt Petunia, banging on the closet door. "NOW!"

"Ow!" cried Tabitha as she sat up in surprise, hitting her head on the shelf above the cot

"What was that?" Aunt Petunia demanded.

"Nothing, Aunt Petunia," Matilda assured her. "We'll be right there."

They heard the clip-clop sounds of their Aunt's ridiculous high-heels as she walked away, and Matilda sighed, sitting up as well, and the two of them grabbed their glasses in unison from the shelf.

The closet was rather large, but just large enough for a dirty twin mattress that the eleven year old twins shared and a cardboard box that contained their meagre amount of clothes.

It was early, for summertime, but they knew it was their cousin Dudley's birthday today – how could they forget? He talked about presents non-stop! – and of course everything had to be perfect.

Between them, the Potter girls had eight shirts and skirts, six pairs of socks, and two pairs of shoes, all of them hand-me-downs from their Aunt and therefore far too big for the petite girls. Tabitha and Matilda were identical, with very long messy black hair and large green eyes framed by rather big eyeglasses; round, with red frames. They had been the cheapest their Aunt and Uncle could find. They were both small for their age, possibly from spending their whole lives in a cupboard, and pale. The girls had never been allowed regular showers or their owner hairbrushes, which might account for the dry, untidy state of their hair. They had heart-shaped faces with strong noses, small ears, and chins that stuck out just enough to not be considered weak.

Behind the bangs their Aunt forced them to have, however, the girls had identical scars, shaped like lightning bolts. They were told by their Aunt and Uncle that they received them in the car accident that killed their parents. The girls found this hard to believe: Two people in a car accident that got the exact same scar? But they got in trouble if they asked questions, so they didn't question it – at least to their relatives.

Tabitha ended up in an ugly yellow flowered button-up shirt complete with a peter pan collar and a black skirt that was much to long for her, though she rolled it up two times. Matilda wore an awkward combination of a baggy blue shirt with a long pink tank top and lace-edged shorts. To make matters a bit more depressing, these were their favourite outfits.

The two girls quickly tried to comb their wild hair – and failed miserably, nearly getting the comb stuck several times; they weren't allowed a brush, and only had the comb because they had swiped it – then quickly got out of the closet and went to the kitchen. Their Aunt was nowhere to be seen, but they knew what to do.

"I'll get the bacon and sausages," said Tabitha.

"Then I'll do the eggs and toast," finished Matilda.

"We can both do the pancakes – I'll mix, you cook."

"Right."

It didn't take them long to make the large, delicious breakfast for their relatives, and Dudley and Uncle Vernon walked in sleepily just as Matilda had finished the last pancake. The girls set the table as Dudley counted his presents.

"Thirty-four…Thirty-five…uh…"

Dudley had done well so far, but large numbers confused him.

"Thirty-six, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia kindly.

"I know! Thirty– six…" Dudley thought for a minute. It seemed to be taking a great effort, because his face was slightly red when his finally cried, "Thirty six! But last year – last year I had thirty-seven!" he banged his giant fists on the table, and all the plates bounced a few inches. Tabitha and Matilda exchanged looks, then began eating as fast as they could. If Dudley had a tantrum, there was no guaranteeing that their food would be safe.

"Well…yes dear, but while we're out, we were going to buy you two new presents!" said Aunt Petunia hurriedly. "How's that, popkin?"

Dudley thought for a second, then said, "I'd have thirty-eight, then, right?" Petunia nodded. "All right," Dudley said, and continued eating.

Then the phone rang, and Aunt Petunia got up to get it, glaring at the girls who were eating quietly in the corner, as there was no room at the table with all Dudley's presents. No doubt she was upset because they had loaded their plates as much as they could, counting on the distraction of Dudley's birthday to allow them to eat a normal amount. Luckily for them, she didn't say anything.

"Dursley residence," said Aunt Petunia cheerfully. "Oh, hello Mrs. Figg…Yes…yes…oh that's terrible! You poor thing!" she cried, her expression contradicting her words: she looked angry, "Well…no, that's all right…get well soon…good bye." She hung up and turned with a grimace to Uncle Vernon. "Mrs. Figg has broken her leg. She can't take them," she pointed her thumb at the twins.

Uncle Vernon groaned, and Dudley burst into (fake) tears, banging his fat fists on the table as he began his tantrum. "I…don't…want…them…to…go!" he yelled between sobs. "They…always...ruin…everything!"

Aunt Petunia rushed forward to comfort her Diddykins, glaring at the girls like it was their fault.

"Well…" said Uncle Vernon, "There's nothing for it. We'll have to take them."

The girls grinned at each other. Usually on Dudley's birthday they were left in the care of Mrs. Figg, a batty old woman with a cabbage–smelling house and dozens of cats. She was nicer to them than the Dursley's, but made them eat cottage cheese and look at pictures of cats. They had never been to the zoo…

"Wait!" said Aunt Petunia, "What if we took them to that teacher's house…the one who's always nice to them? She's offered…"

Now girls' spirits soared. Miss Summerby was their favourite teacher, and she was always nice to the girls. She had even – on a few occasions – taken the girls to parks and museums under the guise of boring school field trips. She knew that their family wasn't very nice to them, and tried to make up for it.

"I don't know…" said Uncle Vernon worriedly. The girls knew it was because they would have fun with Miss Summerby, but then Matilda had an idea.

"Please, can't we go to the zoo?" she begged, "We'll be very good, we promise!"

The two Dursleys glared at the two girls.

"Oh, no!" cried Uncle Vernon, "You're not going to ruin Dudley's birthday! We're calling this Summery person right now!" he said, getting up from the table and going to the phone book.

The girls had proper looks of dejection on their identical, scarred faces, but inside they were thrilled.

"What's the woman's name again?" he asked Aunt Petunia.

"Janie Summerby," answered Matilda. Uncle Vernon glared at her, but flipped to the S's in any case.

Fifteen minutes later, Miss Summerby was on her way to pick the girls up after wholeheartedly agreeing to keep them, and assuring Uncle Vernon that they would have no fun at all. Dudley's friend Piers Polkas had arrived and the Dursley's left, warning the twins that if they touched anything they would be locked in their cupboards for the rest of the summer.

As soon as the Dursley's car pulled out of the driveway, the girls went to work.

"I'll start the shower!" yelled Tabitha, running up the stairs.

"I'll get the iron and clothes!" said Matilda, disappearing into the laundry room.

Twice a week during recess, the twins would help Miss Summerby around the classroom: sweeping, grading papers, cleaning the chalkboard, and organizing books. Miss Summerby had a good amount of money she had inherited from some relative or another, and offered to pay the girls for their work. They said no, of course, but she insisted. They used the twenty dollars between them every week to buy clothes from a second hand shop after school. They hid them under the mattress so their Aunt wouldn't find them, and only used them when they went places with Miss Summerby.

Usually the girls were only allowed one shower a week, two in summer, so when the Dursleys were gone and they weren't locked in their cupboard, they always took the opportunity to bathe. Tabitha hurriedly turned on the taps and got out some towels. They had a routine for the times when the Dursley's were gone.

After the water was hot, Tabitha ran downstairs, passing Matilda as they switched places. Matilda had laid out the clothes, and Tabitha began ironing.

After a few minutes, Matilda came down the stairs and Tabitha went up.

A few months ago, the girls had bought their own soap, shampoo, and conditioner to use when they could, as the Dursley's only allowed them quarter– sized amounts. They hid those in the very back of the top cabinet, were Dudley had no hope of ever reaching without climbing (which he couldn't do).

Tabitha washed quickly and ran back downstairs to get dressed. It had been about ten minutes since the Dursley's left and Miss Summerby lived a little more than a half–hour away.

Finally the girls were dressed. Both were wearing worn jeans, short–sleeved button up shirts, and slightly stained trainers, but the girls loved the clothes simply because they had never been worn by their aunt.

With at least half an hour to spare, the girls ventured into the living room and turned on the TV they were forbidden to watch while trying their best to completely dry their thick, messy hair. It was only nine o'clock in the morning, so there was really nothing on. They settled on the news, and enjoyed the simple pleasure of doing something they were forbidden to do, especially when their relatives could never possibly figure it out.

"Hot, hot, hot, today, and humid. Not really English weather, is it Bob?" the weather man was saying to the news anchor.

Matilda rolled her eyes. "No kidding."

Then there was a knock at the door. The girls looked at each other in confusion.

"It can't be her already?" asked Tabitha.

"No way, not on a Saturday…" agreed Matilda, thinking of the traffic on the freeways, and the girls walked cautiously into the hall and to the front door.

It was the postman.

"Hello," he said, looking at them curiously, then over their heads. "Are your parents here?" he asked, probably wondering why he had never seen the girls before.

"No," answered Matilda automatically.

"Oh, well please tell them we're very sorry about the late mail, but here it is." He handed Tabitha a stack of letters and left down the pathway.

"That's weird…" said Matilda curiously, closing the door. "Since when does the postman knock on the door, anyway?"

Tabitha gasped.

"Oh my goodness…Mat, you have to see this!" she cried, pulling out two thick, yellow envelopes and dropping the rest of the mail to the floor. She handed Matilda one.

"They're addressed to us!" Matilda cried excitedly.

They certainly were.

"Miss M. Potter, The cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Winging, Surrey," read Matilda in an amazed whisper. "There's no return address," She observed.

"Look at the back!" said Tabitha, and Matilda flipped her envelope over.

Holding the envelope closed was a seal that had a bird, a lion, a badger, and a snake on it, all grouped around the letter H and made out of thick red wax.

The twins locked eyes, then simultaneously ripped open the envelopes and pulled out their letters.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

**of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock,_**

**_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_**

_Dear Mr. or Miss Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

**_Deputy headmistress._**

"Wow…" Matilda said after a moment of stunned silence.

"Do you think it's real?" asked Tabitha.

It certainly seemed like a joke, but the Dursley weren't the kind to do humorous things, and the twins could think of no one else who might send something like this.

"No." Tabitha said. "It's either real or…" but she didn't know what the 'or' was.

"Wow…" breathed Matilda again. She had flipped to the second page and Tabitha hurriedly followed suit.

**_Uniform:_**

_Two sets of black robes for daily wear_

_One winter cloak_

_Five white button up shirts_

_Six sweaters, dark gray or black, (three heavy for winter, three lighter)_

_Three black ties_

_Socks in navy blue, white, or black for wizards, tights or knee-high socks in the same for witches_

_Five pairs of black trousers for gentlemen, gray or black skirts for ladies_

_At least one pair of black shoes of any style_

_One scarf for winter_

_One pair of gloves_

_One knit hat_

**_Course Books:_**

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)__ by Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic__ by Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory__ by Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration__ by Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi __by Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Droughts and Potions __by Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find __Them by Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self– Protection__ by Quentin Tremble_

**_Other Equipment:_**

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (Pewter, Standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a rat OR a toad._

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

The girls finished reading at the same time, and Matilda said, "I think this is real."

Tabitha nodded. "No one would go to this much trouble for a joke…"

Although all the evidence seemed to point to 'Yes, it's real', the girls still had a hard time believing it completely. It was so farfetched, after all. But at the same time, they wanted it to be real more than they had ever wanted anything (except perhaps parents). More than the blue bike their aunt and uncle said they could have for Christmas three years ago if they did enough chores, only to laugh in their faces when Christmas came and they both cried at the broken pencils and old lollies they had been given instead. More than they wanted food when they were very hungry but being punished. They wanted the letters to be true more than they wanted extra blankets that year Matilda got the flu, and more than they wanted ice when Dudley broke Tabitha's nose.

Why did they want it so bad? Because it would mean that they were special. It would prove that the weird things they sometimes could do didn't make them freaks, like their relatives said, and that there were other people like them, that maybe they weren't all alone in the world.

"But how do we tell these…Hogwarts people, that we don't have any money…and that we have no idea where to buy this stuff?" continued Tabitha a moment later. "We don't have an owl..."

"Good question," Agreed Matilda. "Maybe–" but then there was a knock.

The girls jumped up.

"That must be Miss Summerby!" gasped Tabitha. The two of them quickly stuffed their letters in their pockets and opened the door, still a bit shell–shocked from the letters but excited nonetheless to see their favourite teacher.

It was indeed Miss Summerby, and they greeted her enthusiastically. She hugged each of the twins before beckoning them to her car.

"I'm so glad your Aunt and Uncle called me," she said after a few minutes of driving. She looked a little different, not her usual bright, happy, excited self. Her short blond hair looked slightly messy, and her dark blue eyes had bags under them. "There's…something I want to tell you two." She finished, glancing Tabitha and Matilda in the back.

"What is it?" asked Matilda nervously.

"Well…it's just a little…it's kind of hard to...I mean…" she ran her fingers through her hair nervously before changing tactics and asking instead, "Have you girls gotten any post today?"

The twins eyes grew wide, and they exchanged a look. Could she know about the letters? If she did, did that mean it was real? Should they tell her the truth? The girls hesitated, then nodded. Miss Summerby was, after all, the only adult they could trust.

"Yes," said Tabitha aloud, and she pulled out the letter, showing Miss Summerby the envelope.

The teacher pulled the car over into an alleyway, taking the letter gently from the girl and smiling.

"Do you believe it?" she asked, her eyes now bright.

"Yes," they answered at the same time, not hesitating. Both had a gut feeling that this was real.

"I knew you would. Well, it's true." She grinned even broader now, "You're witches! Better than that, you two are famous in our world!"

"Our world?" asked Matilda.

Now Miss Summerby pursed her lips and said, "I haven't been quiet honest with you girls. The truth is…well…I've sort of been under cover this year, watching you and waiting for the summer so I could explain." She said, "And my name isn't Janie Summerby…its Charity. Charity Burbage."

The girls stared at her.

"Under cover?" Tabitha demanded, "Why?"

"Because we had to make sure you two were alive, healthy, and happy…or one and a half out of three, at least," she said, slightly bitter. "I'm really a teacher from Hogwarts. I teach Muggle Studies."

"What studies?"

She laughed. "I'll explain everything on the way. I believe you two have school supplies to buy?"

"Well…yes, but where do we get all that stuff?" asked Matilda.

"And we don't have any money." added Tabitha.

"Plus the Dursley's will never let us go."

"And we'd probably be horrible at it."

"Also where is Hogwarts?

"Were our parents witches too?"

Charity laughed when the girls finally paused for a moment.

"I know just where to buy everything, so don't worry. They won't be able to stop you from going, trust me. As for the money, well, you don't think your parents left you with no way to pay for your schooling, did you? And we can talk about the rest of that later."

"They left us something?" asked Tabitha incredulously.

"You two actually have a good sized fortune at the wizard's bank," nodded Charity, easing her car back onto the streets.

"But what was that part about us being famous?" asked Matilda eagerly. Both of the twins liked to absorb large amounts of new information at once, usually not reacting to what they had learned until they heard everything, at which time they would spend a moment thinking about everything and then discuss it together. They had been this way since the first day of primary school.

"Well, for one thing your parents didn't die in a car accident," she started slowly. Tabitha and Matilda weren't that surprised by this – they never quite believed the car story – but it was still a bit shocking to hear it out loud. "They were…they were murdered by the worst Dark Lord our world has ever seen."

"Really?" Tabitha said softly. Unconsciously, the twins clasped hands together tightly on the middle seat.

"Yes. He called himself…" Charity paused, pursing her lips as if unsure how to continue.

"What is it?" asked Matilda.

"It's just…we don't usually say his name. Everyone just calls him You–Know–Who or He–Who–Must–Not–Be–Named."

"Why?" asked Matilda, quirking her head to the side.

"Well honestly...people are afraid." Charity replied. "It's a bit like that legend of Beetlejuice. We're very superstitious about it."

"But that's silly!" exclaimed Tabitha.

"A little," agreed Charity, "But it was a dark time; you couldn't trust anybody and he…V– Voldemort…" she shuddered. "…He did whatever he pleased.

"He'd kill Muggles, that is to say, non–wizards like your aunt and uncle and cousin, just for fun, and if he asked you to join his elite group, the Death Eaters, and you refused…you were dead. He came to your family's house at Godric's Hollow on Halloween night ten years ago. After he was…through with your parents…" Charity sniffed slightly, wiping at her eyes, "He tried to kill you two as well. Special curse he made up himself to kill two at once. I suppose he wanted to get it over with, or maybe he was just practising it. In any case, it didn't work." She looked at them, then gestured to the scar on Matilda's head. "Ever wonder why you have those?" They nodded. "It's a curse scar. It only happens when a powerful curse doesn't work right or backfires, but it's never, _ever _happened with any type of Killing Curse. No one ever lived once he decided to kill them, no one, ever, and he killed hundreds of great and powerful wizards and witches. No one lived…except you two. _That's _why you're famous. _That's_ why every child in our world knows your name. My daughter, Faith, for example, is a year younger than you. She's very excited to meet you two; she's read about you her whole life. You're The Girls Who Lived."

That was a lot to take in. That morning they had been excited to be able to eat a full breakfast and go visit their favourite teacher. Now they were witches – and famous ones at that. It was almost too good to be true, but when Charity pulled a stick from inside her jacket, waved it in the air, and produced large purple bubbles that giggled when you popped them, they had no doubts left.

"You won't be horrible at it," Charity said, rolling her eyes slightly a few minutes later. "It's in your blood. Your parents, James and Lily, were amazing wizards. They were always the top of their classes. You'll do fine."

"But we don't know anything!" protested Matilda. "We didn't even know Hogwarts existed until today!"

"Listen, everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts." Charity said. "Even people who have grown up in the Wizarding World, like my daughter Faith. You're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts on purpose until you're seventeen unless your life is in danger. Wizard-raised children might know more about the history than you too, but there are plenty of children who had Muggle parents or were raised by Muggles and didn't know a thing until they got their letter."

That made the twins feel a bit better.

They spent the rest of the ride to London talking about every aspect of the wizarding world, from a sport called 'Quidditch' to the four Hogwarts houses.

"Quidditch is the most famous sport in the Wizarding World." Charity said. "It's played on broomstick, and there are seven players on each team. Three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The goals are these really tall sticks with circles on the top – three for each team. There are four balls: A ball kind of like a soccer ball, but red, which is called the Quaffle, two Bludgers, and the Snitch. The Chasers use the Quaffle to throw through the hoops, while the Keepers try to keep it out. The Bludgers zoom around and try to hit people, while the Beaters try to keep them away for their team and aim them towards the other team. The Snitch is a tiny gold ball with wings that the Seeker ties to catch. Catching the Snitch ends the game, and awards a hundred and fifty points to the team that caught it. Usually that team wins, but not always.

"Now, about Hogwarts: there are four houses. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. You're sorted into the house that most fits you; Gryffindor is for the brave, daring, and chivalrous, Ravenclaw is for the witty, wise, and eccentric, Hufflepuff is for the kind, loyal, and hard-working, and Slytherin is for the cunning, ambitious, and sly. You live with your house, have classes with them, eat with them, and so on. But anyway, you'll hear more about that later. I have to park here; we'll have a bit of a walk, but oh well."

Soon they were walking through the streets of London, passing by book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? If the twins hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humour, they might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Charity had told them so far was unbelievable, Tabitha and Matilda couldn't help trusting her just as they always had.

"Here it is!" Charity finally said, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Charity hadn't pointed it out, Tabitha and Matilda wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, the twins had the most peculiar feeling that only they and Charity could see it. Before either could mention this, the woman led the way inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Charity; they waved and smiled at her, and the barman reached for a glass, saying, "Ah, Charity! Haven't seen you in a while. The usual, my dear?"

"No thank you, Tom," said Charity, putting an arm around each of the girls. "I'm helping two young witches get their school things – got to have my wits about me."

"Good Lord," said the barmaid, peering at Tabitha and Matilda, "are you — can this be —?" The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent. "Bless my soul," whispered the old barman, "Tabitha and Matilda Potter... what an honour." he hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Tabitha and seizing her hand, tears in his eyes. "Welcome back, Ms. Potter, welcome back."

The twins didn't know what to say as Tom dropped Tabitha's hand and shook Matilda's. Everyone was looking at them. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Charity was beaming.

Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, the girls found themselves shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Doris Crockford, Ms. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Ms. Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Diggle's the name – Dedalus Diggle. So wonderful to meet you two!"

"Hey – didn't you bow to my sister and I in a shop once?" asked Matilda. The small man named Diggle squeaked and looked close to tears.

"Did you hear that, everyone? Matilda Potter remembers me!"

A moment later a nervous-looking man approached the twins. "Oh, the P-p-potters," he stammered. "C-c-can't tell you how p-p-pleased I am to m-m-meet you."

"Oh hello, Quirinus!" Charity said, smiling. "I didn't see you over there. Tabitha, Matilda – this is professor Quirrell. He'll be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."

"Y-yes," Quirrell agreed. "V-v-very fascinating subject. N-not that you need it, e-eh?"

Charity finally dragged them out into a small garden in the back that contained only a rubbish bin inside the surrounding brick wall. She led towards the wall, looked at it for a moment, then tapped a brick with her wand, and the solid wall melted into an archway. Both girls gasped as a street lined with shops and people dressed in cloaks appeared in front of them.

The twins looked in every direction as they walked through the streets, trying to take everything in at once. There were cauldron stores, apothecaries, robe shops, creature stores, and an assortment of other shops Tabitha and Matilda couldn't name.

"Here, why don't you girls get fitted for your uniforms and I'll get your money out," suggested Charity, pointing them towards Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. "It'll save us a bit of time."

The girls nodded and thanked her and went towards the shop Charity had indicated.

A pale boy with white– blond hair and a pointed face was standing on one of five podiums wearing black robes full of pins. As they stepped inside, a very round, red– faced woman rushed in from the back.

"Oh, hello dears! Hogwarts I presume?"

They nodded nervously.

"Just put these on and stand up there. I'll be with you in a moment." She stuck more pins in the boy's robe as the twins pulled on theirs.

"So you're new this year?" the boy asked in a drawling voice.

"Yes," said Matilda.

"Do you know what house you'll be in?" he asked. "I'll be in Slytherin, of course. My whole family has been for years, and all pure–bloods of course. I really don't think they should let the other kind in, do you?"

The twins were really getting annoyed with this boy. Who was he to assume that wizard-raised children were better than Muggle-raised children? (or at least they assumed that's what he meant by 'the other kind'.)

Tabitha said, "Of course they should! And you're not very smart, are you? How do you know we're not 'the other kind'?" she demanded angrily. The boy's pale cheeks flushed slightly.

"Are you?" he asked.

"No," admitted Matilda, "But we were raised by Muggles and they didn't tell us anything. We just found out we are witches about five hours ago."

He glared at them and they glared back, until Madam Malkin stepped back and announced. "That's you done, dear."

After paying for his things, the boy left and Tabitha and Matilda were quickly through; as they were each the same size, they could each put on something different and be done in half the time. It wad quite efficient, and Madam Malkin was very happy at the short time it all took. She was very kind, and the twins ended up introducing themselves. Madam Malkin nearly cried at this, fawning over the twins and even tried to give them their uniforms for free, which they politely declined – now that they had money, why not use it?

The girls met Charity outside the shop and got some of their money from her, then went back inside to pay Madam Malkin. They three of them then set off to continue their shopping. Outside the bookstore, Florish and Blotts, a very, _very_ large man introduced himself.

"Rubeus Hagrid, keeper o' keys and grounds at Hogwarts," he said as he shook their whole arms in his gargantuan hands. His face – though mostly hidden by a huge beard – was slightly green, though the twins couldn't imagine why. "I don' think you'd remember, but I was the one who brought yeh to yer Aunt's and Uncle's place after…" his deep voice trailed off, but he smiled, reaching into one of his giant pockets. "Here – I was supposed to take you two ter get your school things, but Charity was already in the area looking after you. I bought her anyway, hopin' I'd get to see you two. I thought you two might like her…call it an early birthday present." He handed Matilda a cage containing a large snowy owl.

Before they could say anything, however, Hagrid left, and Charity explained that the carts at Gringotts bank had made him very sick. The twins made mental notes to thank him properly once they got to Hogwarts; they had never received a birthday present before.

Their last stop, Ollivander's, the wand shop, didn't allow pets, so Charity stayed outside with the new owl and the girls went in cautiously.

There were shelves towering over their heads, all full of small boxes. The girls walked slowly to the counter, looking around. Just as Tabitha raised her hand to ring the bell, a man appeared out of one of the isles. He had slightly mad–looking white hair and pale blue eyes. He didn't seem to need to blink like most humans, but he didn't seem evil either – just strange.

He smiled toothily when he saw the girls.

"Ah, the Potter's…" he breathed, taking out a measuring tape and waving his wand so it began to take their measurements by itself. "I wondered when I'd see you two…I remember your parents well. Fine, fine people. Good wands too…pity…" he trailed off, staring at the twins for a moment before wheeling around and grabbing boxes.

After almost an hour the girls had tried nearly everything in the shop. Then Ollivander murmured, "I wonder…" and he disappeared down a row. He came back seconds later with two boxes, peeking into each of them before handing both of the girls a wand each.

The wands felt warm in their hands, and the second they grasped them, red and gold sparks shot out the end of both. The girls grinned happily, and Ollivander said, "Yes, very good…but so strange…" his eyes were unfocused.

Tabitha said, "Sorry, but…what's strange?"

He looked back to them, staring piercingly. "Most of the wands I sell are of three common cores: Dragon Heartstring, Phoenix Tail feather, and Unicorn Hair. Occasionally we have different wands…special wands…it is strange that you two in particular would bond with such unique wands…especially because half of each of your cores are from the same phoenix. This phoenix gave only three feathers. The wand containing the third belonged to the man who gave you two those scars." He pointed and crooked finger at Matilda's forehead.

The twins were stunned, but Ollivander continued, "Yours–" he pointed at the wand Tabitha held. It was deep red, the handle was carved to look like stacked circles, the rest were cylindrical links connected by balls. It was highly polished and didn't have a single flaw. "–Is ten and a half inches, holly, with Phoenix and Augury feather. Yours–" he pointed to Matilda's, which didn't have the carved ball handle like Tabitha's, but had similar links of cylinders and balls, growing less defined as you got to the tip of the wand. It was cream-coloured. "–is the same length, the same wood, but the double core is Phoenix and Hippogriff Feather."

The girls knew what a phoenix was from school, but had no idea what an Augury or a Hippogriff could be, though they must be birds, they supposed.

"Curious, indeed…" Ollivander whispered, his eyes unfocused again.

By the time they had paid Ollivander the one Galleon, four Sickles for their wands, it was after three o'clock. Charity was sitting on a bench outside. She had taken the snowy owl out of her cage and was gently stroking her as she sat on Charity's knee. As soon as she saw the twins she eased the bird back into her cage and stood.

"So?" she asked, grinning. "What are they?"

The girls explained about the cores and what Ollivander had told them.

By the end of their story, Charity's hands were clasped over her mouth, her eyes wide. She quickly pulled out one of their new textbooks, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She flipped through the pages quickly.

"What're you–?"

"Here!" she cried, turning to them, "I wanted to make sure. Aurgureys are birds that used to be thought to predict the death of anyone who hears its cry. Until recently, they were also known as the 'Irish bird of death'. Using their feathers in cores is very rare, and they used to be thought to be a powerful Dark Arts wand. However, it was discovered that their cries only predict rain, so then it was thought that they were powerful Divining wands. However, some people believe that they cry when a Dark person – a person who dabbles in Dark magic for their own gain – is nearby, so they are often thought to be wonderful Defensive wands as well.

"Working with a core like the Phoenix feather, it will be very good at Defence, and not too bad in everything else either." She looked at Matilda. "Hippogriffs are half–eagle, half–horse. They are good animals, very noble, but very proud. If you don't show that wand respect, it will likely turn on you. They are also very good at Defence, by the way, but lacking in potion-stirring. Most think they find it degrading, but if you respect it, you will have a very loyal wand."

Matilda and Tabitha nodded fiercely to show they understood, glad for the information.

"But how do you know all this? Does everyone in the Wizarding World know that much about wands?" said Matilda, confused.

Charity blushed. "Wands are a passion of mine," she explained, checking her watch, "Well, we have a few hours before we need to go back and explain to your Aunt and Uncle." She noticed the expressions of apprehension on the twin's faces, and said, "Don't worry; there's no way they can stop you from going. Especially since you have those," she pointed to their wands.

"But we don't even now any spells yet," said Tabitha.

Charity's eyes sparkled. "But they don't know that." Tabitha and Matilda grinned in realization, and then carefully packed their wands into their bag of supplies.

They walked down the alley a bit before Charity suddenly stopped dead, looked around them quickly, before pulling the girls into a gap next to a junk shop. She looked at them carefully, and the twins stared nervously back.

"Tabitha, Matilda, do your Aunt and Uncle…abuse you?" she asked.

The girls, who had been worried about what she would say, laughed in relief.

"No," said Matilda, half-truthfully. "I mean, we do a lot of chores–"

"And they don't buy us new things," added Tabitha, "Or…anything, really, but they feed us…usually…and they never hit us–" which was mostly true. They had been denied any food they really liked most of the time, and sometimes were punished and went weeks without more than two slices of bread and some water a day. They were almost always denied medical treatment, like when Matilda had the flu and when Tabitha had her nose broken, and often their Aunt would slap them, but they weren't _really _abused. Or at least they didn't think so. "–And we have to share a tiny cupboard, but other than that–"

"You sleep in a cupboard?" gasped Charity, "Both of you? How big is it?"

"A little less than two meters by one," said Matilda. The twins had once had to measure their so-called room for a school project. They had gotten in trouble from the teacher for being 'story-tellers', but the fact remained that it was true. "But–"

"No, no, no," Charity said, pressing her hands to her temples. "Don't worry, I'll talk to them tonight. There's an extra room there, yes? You said your cousin keeps all his things there."

"Yes," said Tabitha. "Actually, two. Our Aunt Marge has one for when she visits as well, but you don't have–"

"I know, but it won't be any trouble," Insisted Charity. "For now, let's go exchange some of your money into Muggle money, so you can get clothes and things. Maybe a haircut?" she suggested, "I'll bet your Aunt and Uncle have never let you have a proper one."

The girls grinned.

A few minutes later, the three of them – four, if you count the owl – were back in the Muggle world. Everything felt different now, and Tabitha and Matilda found themselves laughing at Muggles in cars and eating in restaurants after seeing broomsticks and cauldrons.

They ended up in a vintage clothing store, as the girls were quiet partial to old-fashioned things, and they got heaps of new clothes and shoes for every season, and night clothes from a separate store, which they had never had before. If felt like tons, as they had never had a proper wardrobe before, but in reality was probably only a dozen or so outfits each.

The two were thrilled, especially when they had the opportunity to buy new glasses. The man put Tabitha's glasses into a machine and read the prescription, then showed them all the glasses they could buy. They settled on square black ones and were very happy to have something they liked for once.

Then they were at the barber.

Charity had given them some Magical Hair Tamer beforehand, and it made their snarled, curly hair lie flat – if still a bit tangled. The barber left their bangs alone at their insistence; they had decided to let them grow out so their hair would be even, and asked Charity when the man's back was turned if their was a spell that could make your hair longer, and she grinned and waved her wand while the man was getting his spectacles from a nearby tailor, making the girls bangs stretch down to the same length as the rest of their hair. They thanked her gladly; they had always hated having bangs.

As the man worked, he remarked on their scars – "Never seen anything like them, very peculiar!" – but in a kind manner. He gave them a trim, so their hair went to their mid-backs, evened it all out, and thinned it a lot. By the end, they didn't recognize each other…but they didn't think that was such a bad thing. They looked less like orphans who lived under stairs and more like normal children…normal children who would soon be going to a wizard school, that is.

It was quite eerie to be back on Privet Drive after everything that day, and the girls carefully picked up their bags – which Charity had Charmed to fit inside each other to save space – and Charity grabbed their owl.

Before they could knock, Uncle Vernon yanked open the door.

"Where have you two brats been? We've been waiting for hours!" he thundered. Then he saw the bags in their hands. "What're all these? And what happened to you two?" he demanded, squinting at their haircuts and glasses as Aunt Petunia and Dudley crept cautiously into the hall behind him.

"Mr. Dursley, I'm Charity Burbage. We talked on the phone earlier, you'll remember?" Charity said calmly, holding out the hand that wasn't holding the snowy owl. Uncle Vernon gaped at the bird for a moment, then glared at Charity. Aunt Petunia behind him was regarding her with both fear and open disdain. Aunt Petunia hated out-of-the-ordinary people, and Charity's short hair and long purple robe (which she had donned whilst they were at Diagon Alley, saying that she wasn't very comfortable in all Muggle clothing) clearly offended her. And – the twins inferred – perhaps she guessed what Charity was as well.

"I thought your name was Jean Summers, or something like that," said Uncle Vernon, his beady eyes narrowed.

"I can explain that," said Charity evenly. "Could we come inside? I don't think you'll want the neighbours hearing about this…and there's the owl…" Aunt Petunia blanched. The neighbours' talking about them was her worst fear. She wasted no time in ushering them into the sitting room.

"Mrs. Dursley, I assume you know what this is about." Charity said, sitting down opposite the Dursleys.

Aunt Petunia paled tremendously.

"The girls got their letters this morning, and I am a teacher from the school. I've taken them to get their school things–"

"Now wait a minute!" thundered Uncle Vernon, standing up. "If you're talking about that – that…_magic school_, they will not be going!" He was steadily turning purple, never a good sign. "We swore when we took them in that we'd rub out all this nonsense! We will not pay for some crackpot old fool to teach them magic tricks!"

Charity stood now too, and drew her wand. "You cannot 'rub out' magic!" she cried, pointing her wand at Uncle Vernon. The girls doubted she'd really put a spell on him, but they didn't say anything. They wouldn't be very unhappy if she turned the Dursleys into toads. Uncle Vernon looked terrified, and sat down on the couch. "They have their own money, besides, saved for them by their parents, and if you ever insult Albus Dumbledore in front of me again, your son will be turned into a pig before you can say 'oink'. There won't be much magic needed either, I assure you."

The twins snorted in suppressed laughter. Charity stared at the Dursleys warningly for a moment before continuing. "As I said before, everything is taken care of financially. The girls will need a ride to King's Cross on the morning of September the first so they can catch their train, but besides that Mr. Dursley let me make myself clear:" she leaned over the terrified family, wand still drawn. "If you do not give those girls a room to themselves, I will inform the Muggle police of your habit of locking little girls in closets. Understand?"

Uncle Vernon opened his mouth to say something, but Aunt Petunia cut him off. "You're right. We've been planning on it anyway…we'll start moving them tonight." She said.

Charity nodded, and glanced down at her watch. "Oh, I need to get back to Faith," she said. The twins remembered that this was her daughter, and they got up to see her to the door.

"By the way," Charity added to their Aunt and Uncle, "Tabitha and Matilda have an owl now; it's the way our people communicate. If I don't hear from them two days in a row, I will be back, and I'll bring others."


	3. The Hogwarts Express

Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express 

Charity's threats had worked, and that night the girls ate dinner they didn't cook, then went to sleep in Dudley's second bedroom, now their room. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had gotten an old bed frame from the basement, used when Dudley was younger, and put a mattress on it, so now there were two beds. They put them on either side of the window, and the twin's owl – who they named Hedwig – had her cage on the desk. Other than that, there was a wardrobe, a small bookcase, and their trunks. It was small and cramped, but definitely an improvement from the cupboard.

The girls spent the next few weeks reading their new course books, which were very interesting. They thought that most wizard children would already know at least the history of the world, so they studied. Their Aunt and Uncle and even Dudley left them alone, and they were not asked to do any chores. They wrote to Charity every other day, and occasionally her daughter, Faith, who was very excited to talk to the famous twins.

Finally the day arrived, and Tabitha and Matilda squeezed into the backseat with a very grumpy Dudley. The drive to London seemed to take forever, the twins were so excited, but finally they were there. The ticket said 'Platform nine and three-quarters' which Charity had told them was the barrier between platforms nine and ten, you simply had to walk through it. They had not told Uncle Vernon this when they showed him their tickets, however, and he had been very excited to help them load their trunks before saying goodbye and driving away with Aunt Petunia and Dudley, all of them laughing hysterically. They no doubt thought the platform didn't exist, and the twins found this very funny.

The trunks were heavy, and by the time they made it to platform nine, they were exhausted. Tabitha and Matilda paused for a break, as they had plenty of time before the Hogwarts Express was set to leave, and as they sat a red-haired family hurried by.

"Always packed with Muggles, of course. Ah, here we are!" said a plump, kind-looking woman who appeared to be the mother of the four boys and one girl with her. "Percy, you go first!" she instructed, and what looked like the oldest boy ran at the wall, disappearing through it.

Tabitha looked at Matilda, her eyebrow raised. "Should we introduce ourselves, you think?"

Matilda nodded. "I bet either the boy or girl are First Years too."

They stood and pushed their trunks over.

"Oh – hello!" said the youngest boy, noticing them and then seeing Hedwig. "You two starting at Hogwarts this year too?"

"Yes," said Tabitha, and the girl and her mother turned at the sound of her voice.

"Oh, hello dears," said the woman, "You're first years as well?" They nodded. "Good, good, so is Ron here," she said, ruffling the boy's hair. He groaned. "You two can go ahead, we'll probably be awhile." Apparently Ron had a problem with his trolley wheel the twins hadn't noticed before – it wouldn't role properly – so they thanked her and ran quickly through the barrier.

It was pandemonium.

There must have been hundreds of people on the platform: loading trunks, packing away owls and cats, saying goodbye, and one man in the corner was actually cooking over an open fire.

"Where do you think we should go?" asked Matilda, craning her neck to see the train.

"Let's just get in the first empty one we see." Suggested Tabitha, and they pushed their trunks over to a door.

Together, they could barely lift one. They struggled with several different arrangements to try and lift them up onto the train, and even tried to remember what spell Charity had used on their school things to make them lighter, but after awhile they had to concede defeat. They were just about to go ask someone for help when two of the boys from the red-haired family – also twins, by the looks of them – offered their help.

"Thanks," said Tabitha, wiping her forehead. After only a few moments, the four of them managed to get the trunks on the train, then the shelf above the seats.

Matilda shook back her hair as they finished, and the boys – who had introduced themselves as Fred and George – gasped at the same time.

"You're…are you two…?" one of them, Matilda thought maybe Fred, but Tabitha thought it was George, stammered incoherently.

"Yes, we're Tabitha and Matilda Potter," Said Tabitha resignedly. Wide-eyed, the two red heads left the compartment, and Tabitha and Matilda sat down opposite each other, sighing.

"What do you think is the possibility of us making real friends here?" Tabitha asked her sister.

"Well, plenty of people are shallow," said a voice from the door, "But I'm sure someone will like you because you're you, not just because you didn't die as babies."

A girl their age walked in, pulling a trunk behind her and carrying a cage that held a calico cat. She had short dark brown hair that curve under, and went just below her chin. Thin bangs covered all of the right side of her forehead and most of the left. She was pale, but covered with freckles and her eyes were a green-brown colour.

"I mean, it's terribly interesting, and of course horrible at the same time, but it must get tiring, having people fawn over you when you can't even remember it."

"It does…thank you," said Matilda after a second. It was so rare for a person their age to speak a kind word to the twins that they had both been momentarily stunned into silence. "That's really nice of you to say…would you like to sit with us?" she asked hesitantly. No one had every voluntarily sat with Matilda and Tabitha anywhere, because of Dudley and his gang.

The girl grinned. "I'd love to, as long as you don't mind cats." The girls shook their heads to show they didn't, and helped the girl load her trunk onto the shelf.

A whistle blew, and the train began to move. The three of them could hear people calling their last minute reminders and good-byes.

"I'm Euterpe Noble, by the way," said the girl, pronouncing Euterpe 'you–tur–pay'.

The name sounded familiar to Tabitha, and after a moment she realised why.

"Isn't Euterpe the Greek muse of poetry?" asked Tabitha.

Euterpe grinned. "That's right. Not many people know that. It's better than my middle name by a lot…Imogene, I ask you…" she shuddered, and the three of them laughed.

Then the door opened again, and a red head peeked inside.

"Er– do you mind? Everywhere else is full…" It was Ron.

"Not at all!" said Tabitha, gesturing to a seat.

"I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley," he said.

"I'm Euterpe Noble." said Euterpe, shaking his hand.

"Tabitha Potter."

"Matilda Potter."

Ron's eyes went wide, just like his brother's had. "Fred and George told us they were you…I mean – I mean they – that you were…you're…but I didn't…" His face was red as he struggled for words.

"It's all right, Ron," said Matilda gently.

"Yeah, they're just people," agreed Euterpe, who seemed to be able to read the girls' minds.

"We don't even remember that, it was just a circumstantial thing. Don't worry about it – you don't have to treat us like royalty, we don't expect anything like that."

This seemed to calm him down and he gave them a grateful smile and promised to try and act as normal as was possible 'when you come from a big, insane family like mine'. All four children laughed.

…And then the door opened again.

"There you are Neville!" cried Euterpe, standing up. A slightly chubby, round–faced boy stood with brown hair appeared, cheeks slightly flushed as he murmured something about someone called Trevor.

"He'll turn up, he always does." Euterpe assured him, "C'mon, sit with us." She implored. The others smiled encouragingly, as he seemed quite shy, and he sat next to Euterpe.

Euterpe whispered something in his ear as soon as he sat, and he blushed deeper but nodded.

"I'm Neville Longbottom." He said quietly.

"Ron Weasley."

"Matilda Potter."

"Tabitha Potter."

The twins had a feeling that Euterpe had warned him not to react extravagantly, because he simply smiled at them.

"Has anyone lost a toad?" called a voice from outside the compartment. A girl with bushy brown hair opened the door to their compartment. "Have any of you lost a toad? I've just found this one…" she held him out, and Neville squealed "Trevor!" and ran forward, thanking the girl happily.

"Told you." Said Euterpe smugly.

"Aaric!" the bushy–haired girl called out the door, "I found him!"

A boy with blond hair came rushing forward, looking a bit nervous. "Good, those Slytherins were getting angry…"

He noticed the full compartment, and said, "Oh, hi, I'm Aaric MacDonald."

"I'm Hermione Granger," added the bushy–haired girl. She had a slightly bossy tone, but none of them commented on it. After all, the twins though, she may just be nervous about school; she didn't necessarily mean anything by it. Everyone introduced themselves, Tabitha and Matilda last. Aaric grinned when they said their names. "My parents are friends with the Burbage's," he explained. "Faith told me you two would be here this year, but I didn't really believe her."

Hermione simply said that she had read about them in tons of wizard books, and neither of them gushed as much as Ron had. The twins couldn't really blame him – they supposed it was just his family who made a big deal of them, like his twin brothers. Of course, there was nothing bad about how they acted; they weren't trying to be rude, and everyone who had acted that way to them had been very kind as well. None of them knew that it bothered the twins, so they weren't upset with them. They vowed to just try and explain to others in the future how they felt when they reacted this way.

The seven of them were soon friends. They all had something in common: they were lonely. Hermione was a bit of a bookworm, and therefore most children didn't like her. Ron had so many other siblings that it was easy for one child to be overlooked, even with loving parents. Neville was painfully shy; Euterpe was his only friend, and vice versa. Aaric had a few friends, but none close for reasons he wouldn't say.

Matilda and Tabitha bought tons of sweets from the trolley lady and shared them with everyone, learning about Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans along the way. Tabitha and Matilda got Broken Computer bean their first time, which they thought was strange as wizards apparently didn't know anything about Muggle things. Ron got Defeat, and – looking dejected – announced that he was giving up Beans for good.

During the rest of the ride to Hogwarts, the twins found out that Hermione was also raised by Muggles, in her case her parents. Euterpe and Neville were both raised by their grandmothers, and Aaric by wizard parents. He had a sister named Natalie who was three years younger than him. Ron, of course, had five brothers and one sister, and his family didn't have very much money. Ron was apparently a little sensitive about this. When asked about their family, Tabitha and Matilda said that the Dursley's didn't like them very much, but didn't mention how they lived in a cupboard until recently, or about the cooking and cleaning and bullying.

After a few hours (which Tabitha and Matilda thought were the best in their lives), one of Ron's older brothers, Percy, who was a Prefect, came to tell them that they would be at Hogwarts soon, and to change into their robes. The girls went to a bathroom down the hall, and the boys stayed in the compartment to change. Their uniforms were mostly black and gray, and Hermione, who seemed to know everything, told them that they would be transfigured automatically to their new House colours after they were sorted.

For the last few minutes of the ride, the seven discussed what House they would be in.

"Well, I think Gryffindor is my personal preference, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad," Said Hermione.

"My mum and dad were both in Hufflepuff," said Aaric. "But I don't think I will be."

"I'll probably end up in Hufflepuff," said Neville miserably.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Matilda, "Charity told us that Hufflepuffs are kind, loyal, and hard-working, not to mention they're great finders!"

Neville blushed. "I didn't mean that…it's just…I mean, my parents and my grandmother were all in Gryffindor so…"

Ron, seeing Neville was uncomfortable, said, "I don't care, honestly, I mean…I just don't want to end up in Slytherin."

Everyone laughed at this, and soon the train stopped. A voice told them to leave their trunks and things, so Ron said good–bye to his rat, Scabbers, and Euterpe said goodbye to her cat, Buttons, Matilda and Tabitha bade farewell to Hedwig, and they all climbed off the train.


	4. The Sorting

Chapter 4: Sorting

The platform was crowded, and the seven First-Years had no idea where to go. Then, towering a good meter over anyone else, was Hagrid.

"Firs' years, over here!" he called, "Firs' years! Come with me!" he noticed Matilda and Tabitha and grinned, waving. They waved back and followed him with the rest of the first years. He led them down a muddy bank to the side of a giant lake where a dozen or so boats were docked. Several people had slipped on the on the wet hill – including Neville – and were covered in mud by the time they made it to the boats.

"No more'n four ter a boat!" called Hagrid, taking one for himself. Tabitha, Matilda, Aaric, and Hermione ended up together, while the other three shared a boat with another girl.

Everyone gasped when they saw Hogwarts castle. Dozens of turrets and towers glowed slightly in the light of the moon and the lit windows. All the children were speechless for awhile, and then started whispering among themselves.

"Wow," said Tabitha to the other three. "We really get to live here?"

Soon they were getting out of their boats and walking up a steep but thankfully mud-less hill toward huge wooden doors. Hagrid knocked twice, and the door opened to reveal a stern-looking woman in emerald robes. Matilda and Tabitha thought immediately that this was _not_ a woman to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. Come in," she said, directing everyone through the giant doors and leading them into an empty chamber.

"Your attention," she called, though everyone was already quiet, "Thank you. Now, in a few minutes you will pass through these doors and be sorted into one of the four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. Triumphs will earn you point, and any rule-breaking will loose you points. The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily." She finished, and disappeared through a door to their right.

Everyone was fidgeting nervously. Neville was turning steadily green, Euterpe was paler than usual, and Ron looked slightly red again.

"So it's true then," said a loud, drawling voice. Tabitha and Matilda turned and recognized the boy from Madam Malkin's pushing through the crowd towards them. "What they're saying on the train. The Potters' have come to Hogwarts." He stepped up in front of the seven of them, looking very superior, flanked by two large boys that looked about as bright as the mountain trolls the twins had read about the previous night.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle, and I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He said in that same arrogant tone, and Tabitha heard Ron snort loudly behind them. Malfoy's eyes flashed, his sleeked-back blond hair glimmering in the candlelight as he turned to glare at Ron. "Think my name's funny do you? No need to ask yours…red hair, and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley."

He turned back to Tabitha and Matilda, who were starting to dislike him more and more by the second. Who did this kid think he was, talking to people this way?

"You'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others. I can help you there." Malfoy held out on pale hand.

Tabitha and Matilda both snorted and shook their heads. Matilda adjusted her glasses calmly.

"I think we can tell the wrong sort for ourselves, thanks." Tabitha said, glaring at Malfoy.

"We've a good idea of where to start," added Matilda.

He stared incredulously at them for a few seconds, until Professor McGonagall came up behind him, tapping him firmly on the shoulder and watching him in a hawk-like manner until he was back in line with the others.

"Follow me." The professor said, and led the way through the doors.

The room was filled with hundreds and hundreds of students, and Tabitha and Matilda were suddenly so nervous they were grateful for Hermione's whisper behind them as she said, "…It's enchanted to look like the night sky…" and the twins remembered that from _Hogwarts, a History._ They stared up at the ceiling in awe until they reached the front. It was a helpful distraction from all of the eyes on them.

"When I call your names, you will step forward and I will place the sorting hat on your head." McGonagall announced. She consulted her list, then called, "Abbott, Hannah!"

A very pink–faced girl with blond pig tails rushed forward, place the hat on her head, and sat down on the stool. After only a second, a rip near the brim of the hat opened and it shouted, "Hufflepuff!"

Hannah jumped down happily and ran to join the cheering yellow and black table.

"Bones, Susan!"

A girl with long black hair wore the hat next, and was also sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Boot, Terry!"

A very pale boy with long blond hair and glasses quickly placed the hat on his head and sat down. No sooner had he sat, than the hat yelled, "Ravenclaw!" and the blue and bronze table cheered happily as he joined them.

"Brown, Lavender!" was sorted into Gryffindor after a few moments, then, "Brocklehurst, Mandy!" went to Ravenclaw and "Bulstrode, Millicent!" went to Slytherin. "Corner, Michael!" a boy who was handsome to the point of being pretty at his age was sorted into Ravenclaw, as was, "Cornfoot, Stephen!". "Vincent, Crabbe!", the first of Malfoy's henchmen, went to Slytherin, "Davis, Tracey!" went to Slytherin, and "Entwhistle, Kevin!" to Ravenclaw.

"Evers, Morrissey!" went to Ravenclaw and "Finch–Fletchley, Justin!" went to Hufflepuff. "Finnegan, Seamus!" became a Gryffindor, "Goldstein, Anthony!" went to Ravenclaw, and "Goyle, Gregory!", Malfoy's other henchman, went to Slytherin, along with a pretty girl named "Greengrass, Daphne!"

"Granger, Hermione!" McGonagall called, and Tabitha, Matilda, Euterpe, Aaric, Neville, and Ron smiled encouragingly at her as she walked forward. She sat down with the hat on, and after almost a minute it yelled, "Gryffindor!" and the scarlet–and–gold table erupted into cheers. Beaming, Hermione set the hat down and ran to join them.

"Hopkins, Wayne!" went to Hufflepuff, "Jones, Megan!" joined him while "Li, Su!" went to Ravenclaw.

Then it was: "Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville was trembling as he ascended the stairs and sat down, the hat dropping over his eyes as it had all the others. After almost a minute, the hat finally yelled, "Gryffindor!" and Neville smiled so brightly it looked painful, and he started to run towards the table with the hat still on, but Euterpe grabbed it and handed it to the McGonagall, who called, "MacDonald, Aaric!" and Aaric stepped forward, looking nervous. The hat put him almost immediately in Gryffindor, and he rushed to sit with Neville and Hermione.

"Macmillan, Ernie!" was a blond boy who looked strangely large and muscular for an eleven year old, was sorted into Hufflepuff while, "Malfoy, Draco!" went – surprisingly – to Slytherin before the hat even touched his hair. "McDougal, Morag!" went to Ravenclaw and "Nott, Theodore!" went to Slytherin.

"Noble, Euterpe!"

Euterpe was grinning as she took her seat, unlike the others who – besides Malfoy, who had simply looked smug – had all looked either vaguely green or pale white. The hat considered for a moment, then yelled, "Gryffindor!"

The twins had a vague thought that all their friends who had been sorted so far were in Gryffindor.

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

"Slytherin!"

"Patil, Padma!" A pretty Indian girl with long black hair went up to the stool, and the hat proclaimed her "Ravenclaw!"

"Patil, Parvati!" was a girl identical to the first down to the last hair, but when she wore the sorting hat, she became a Gryffindor.

"Potter, Matilda!" she cried. A hush filled the Great Hall. Tabitha gently squeezed her sister's hand and Matilda walked forward and sat down on the stool, glad that the hat covered her eyes. It was less awkward this way

_'Ah, one of the Potter girls…' _said a voice in her ear. _'I've been waiting for you…let's see…loyal, yes, not a bad mind at all, either…there's power, oh yes, and a thirst to prove yourself…but where to put you? You could go anywhere…'_

_'Not Slytherin, not Slytherin_…' Matilda thought desperately.

_'Not Slytherin? But you could be great there, both of you…it's all here, in your head. And Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that…no?'_

_'Please,'_ thought Matilda, _'I want to be with my friends, and so will Tabitha.'_

_'All right then, if you're sure….better be…'_

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled, and Matilda was so happy she could have flown to the table where Euterpe, Hermione, Neville, and Aaric were waiting for her, grinning, as everyone yelled louder than ever. Two of Ron's older brothers, the twins, were chanting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

"Potter, Tabitha!" Professor McGonagall cried. There was a hush yet again.

Tabitha hurried to the stool, pulling on the hat. She just wanted to get it over with.

_'Here's the other one…your sister was quite difficult…I hope you'll see to reason.'_

_'What do you mean?' _Asked Tabitha.

_'I told her she would do well in Slytherin, both of you would…she insisted on Gryffindor, but I'm sure you'll be more reasonable…you would do very well in Slytherin indeed.'_

_'No,'_ Tabitha thought firmly. _'I want to be with everyone else, and I won't be Dark either…I know what Slytherin would do to us. Besides, Matilda and I don't separate.'_

_'Fine then,'_ said the hat, sounding rather frustrated, _'Have it your way.'_

"Gryffindor!"

The cheering was deafening. The Gryffindors were ecstatic to have both the Potters, and it showed. Several of them looked close to tears. Tabitha plopped down next to Matilda, across from Euterpe, Aaric, Neville, and Hermione, and grinned at each other.

The Sorting continued. "Smith, Zacharias!" was sorted into Hufflepuff, and then it was, "Thomas, Dean!" who became a Gryffindor as well, and took a spot next to Seamus Finnegan as "Turpin, Lisa!" became a Ravenclaw.

"Weasley, Ron!" Ron was bright red, gray, and green all at the same time as he pulled the hat over his flaming hair and matching ears, but his worry was for naught, because he became a Gryffindor as well, and ran over to sit by the twins.

Lastly, "Zabini, Blaise!" became a Slytherin.

After all the cheering had subsided, Albus Dumbledore stood up. He was beaming, his light blue eyes glittering as he said, "Welcome all! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it! Tuck in!" and everyone cheered as Dumbledore sat down and – amazingly – food appeared out of thin air.

Tabitha and Matilda had never seen this much food in one place in their whole lives – maybe not even this much combined! There was no one here to stop them from eating as much as they wanted, so they grabbed everything they could reach. Ron did the same while Hermione watched him in distaste as she slowly spooned small portions of vegetables and chicken onto her plate.

"I'm half and half. Me dad's a Muggle, mum's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out." Seamus was telling Dean, who laughed.

"My parents are both Muggles," he said. "We're not sure who could have been magical in our family…we think it might be my Uncle; none of us has seen him in a few years."

Ron was stuffing chicken and potatoes into his face like he hadn't ever eaten before, and Aaric watched him with disgust, as if unable to look away. As he reached forward to grab his fifth chicken leg, a head popped up in the middle of the platter. Ron gasped, choking on his chicken. Aaric thumped him on the back.

"Hello there! Welcome to Gryffindor!" the head said, rising slowly out of the chicken. It was a man – the ghost of a man to be exact – and he wore tights and a ruffled collar.

"Oh, I know who you are!" cried Ron after swallowing, "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

The ghost frowned, "I prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don't mind, or Nick if you must."

"Nearly headless?" asked Hermione sceptically, "How can you be _nearly_ headless?"

Nick gave her a withering look. "Like this," he said, and tilted his head to the side.

All the first-years gasped, and Neville and Hermione shrieked. The ghost's head had flopped off the one side, held on by a piece of skin, like a hinge.

As the dinner cleared away and was replaced by desert, Tabitha happened to glance at the teachers' table. Charity and a woman who Tabitha thought must be the astronomy teacher, Professor Sinistra, were talking and laughing. Dumbledore and McGonagall were deep in discussion, their heads bent towards each other. At the very edge of the table, Tabitha saw a man with long, greasy looking black hair. He was talking to Professor Quirrell, whom she recognized from The Leaky Cauldron. She nudged Matilda, and the other twin followed her gaze to the black haired man, who happened to look at them at that moment.

A bolt of pain shot through both girls' scars at the same time, and they both clapped their hands to their foreheads, saying, "Ow!"

Euterpe, Neville, and Ron looked at them curiously, but they ignored that and Matilda leaned over towards Percy down the table.

"Percy, who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, that's Professor Snape." Answered Percy, "He teaches potions, but everyone knows it's the Dark Arts he fancies. Been after that position for years, he has."

After Dumbledore's announcements and the school song, the children were dismissed for bed. The Gryffindor first years followed Percy upstairs, through tapestries, down halls and all over the place, all of them to sleepy to say anything or pay attention to where they were going.

"Girls, you dormitories are up the stairs and down on your left, boys, the same on your right. You'll find all your belongings have already been brought up. Breakfast starts at six and ends at nine, which is when the first bell rings for class. You'll be given your schedules tomorrow at breakfast – be sure not to loose them."

Tabitha, Matilda, Hermione and Euterpe followed Percy's instructions and ended up in a circular dorm with six four poster beds arranged along the sides. Two others girls entered after them, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Both were very pretty, and seemed to have already become friends.

They were all tired, and didn't talk much as they put on their nightgowns and brushed their teeth. Matilda chose a bed across from the door, Tabitha to her left and Hermione to the right, with Euterpe on Tabitha's other side. It didn't take long for anyone to fall asleep, even as excited as they were for their first day.


	5. The First Day

Chapter 7: Flying Lesson 

Days after the students had really settled in, the first years awoke to find a notice pinned to the message board in the common room. It informed them that they would be having flying lessons with the Slytherins that day.

Tabitha and Matilda groaned in unison.

"What?" Ron frowned.

"Look, Mat, just what we've always wanted," said Tabitha sarcastically.

"Yeah, to make fools of ourselves in front of Malfoy." Matilda agreed.

"You won't make fools of yourselves," said Hermione.

"Yeah. Malfoy talks a lot, but I bet he can't really fly." Said Euterpe.

But for the rest of the day, Hermione and Neville read all the flying books they could find. Neville's grandmother had never let him near a broomstick, but Aaric, Euterpe, Millie, and Ron already knew how to fly, so they weren't worried, though Aaric didn't like it that much – for sport, at least – and Euterpe hadn't been allowed to fly often. Millie, however, frequently played with her cousins as a beater, and was very good.

Around two, the Gryffindor first years headed out to the Quidditch pitch. They got there before the Slytherins, and Hermione was busily whispering last minute tips to everyone. It was to the relief of all but her and Neville when Madam Hooch arrived, the Slytherins close behind.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Put your hand over a broomstick and say 'up'!"

They all did as told. Matilda's and Tabitha's brooms flew right into their hands. Millie's rose a little more than a foot, Ron's tilted off the ground slightly, and Hermione's simply rolled over. Neville's didn't move at all. Madam Hooch congratulated the twins, then told the others to try again. Several brooms went up this time: Millie's, Aaric's, Ron's, Euterpe's, and Malfoy's. Finally, after three more tries, all the brooms were up.

"All right, now mount your brooms." They all did. "On my whistle, you'll kick off from the ground, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. Ready? Three, two–" but Neville, anxious not to be left on the ground, had kicked off too early. He rose rapidly into the air; four feet, five feet, six feet…Everyone looked on in shock.

"Mr. Longbottom, come down here this instant!" cried Madam Hooch, but Neville was out of control. He continued to rise up, then at about twenty or so feet he started sliding off the end and fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

The other seven gasped, running towards Neville and ignoring Madam Hooch's cries. Thanks to her long legs, the flying instructor made it first. Neville's face was pressed into the grass, and he moaned, his arm bent in a funny way.

"Oh dear, a broken wrist," murmured Madam Hooch, helping Neville up. "Come on, boy. Madam Pomfrey will fix this in a jiffy."

They started walking back towards the castle, and Madam Hooch called back, "You are all to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. If I see one broom in the air, the one riding it will be out of Hogwarts before they can say 'Quidditch'."

The Slytherins were all openly laughing now, and the Gryffindors glared at them.

"Hey, look!" cried Malfoy through his laughter. He picked up something off the ground, and the seven recognized it as the Rememberall Neville had received from his grandmother that morning. "Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he'd have remembered to fall on his fat arse!" he cried, prompting more laughter from the Slytherins. Before the Gryffindors could stop him, he rapped the ball hard with his wand, causing it to break in half.

"Give it here, Malfoy," demanded Tabitha angrily, stepping forward.

"No." Malfoy said, glaring at her. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find." He grabbed his broom and mounted it, soaring upwards effortlessly. He _could_ fly.

Simultaneously, Tabitha and Matilda grabbed their brooms and mounted them.

"No way, you guys!" Hermione cried, running forward.

"Yeah," agreed Aaric hurriedly. "I mean, you don't even know how to fly!"

But Tabitha and Matilda ignored the pleas of their friends in favour of the Gryffindor instincts churning through them and took off.

It was so easy, so natural that it shocked both of the girls. It was very simple to tilt slightly one way to turn, lean back to slow down, and forward to speed up. They ascended until they were even with Malfoy about a hundred feet in the air.

"Give it here or we'll knock you off your broom!" yelled Matilda. Malfoy looked stunned, but quickly shook himself.

"Oh yeah?" Malfoy said, but his confidence was failing. The shock of seeing the twins, who had been Muggle-raised, flying with ease, must have gotten to him.

"Not so brave without your body guards, are you?" Tabitha sneered.

"We'll see who's brave!" cried Malfoy. He took one half of the Rememberall in each hand and threw the pieces hard in different directions.

The girls didn't think, just acted. Matilda followed one piece straight down, pulling up just in time and rolling gently onto the grass with it in her hand. Tabitha followed the other that went bouncing down the window ledges on the castle. Focusing only on the half-sphere, she didn't notice whose window she was in front of when she spun completely upside down to catch it, landing on the ground by the others seconds later.

There was a pause, then all Gryffindors cheered, surrounding the two girls, patting them on the back, and congratulating them.

"Wow, that was amazing!," cried Parvati.

"That flip, Tabitha, wow!" said Ron, impressed.

"I've never even seen professionals pull up that fast!" moaned Euterpe enviously, grinning.

"Miss Potter!" cried an angry voice, and everyone froze. The Slytherins were smirking, but the Gryffindors were all pale. It was Professor McGonagall.

She stepped up to the twins, looking severe and very tight–lipped. "Both of you will come with me now." She said simply.

"But Professor, it wasn't their fault!" cried Lavender.

"It was Malfoy, he–"

"That's enough, Miss Brown and Miss Patil."

"You don't understand, Professor!" cried Euterpe.

"He broke Neville's Rememberall!" Dean said, pointing angrily at Malfoy.

"He had it, way up there, he was flying too, and then he threw it!" yelled Millie.

"That is quiet enough from all of you." Professor McGonagall said angrily. "Miss Potter and Miss Potter, come with me!" and she strode off, leaving the girls with no choice but to follow.

McGonagall didn't speak as they ascended staircases, went through doors, and passed curious students. The twins felt terrible. They hadn't even managed to last a month, and now they would be expelled. What would the Dursley's say when they arrived at their doorstep?

But Professor McGonagall didn't lead them to Dumbledore's office; instead they stopped in front of the Defence classroom. McGonagall stuck her head in and said, "Excuse me, Quirinus, but could I borrow Wood for a moment, please?"

In a second, a tall fifth year boy stood in front of them, looking curiously at Tabitha and Matilda.

"Follow me, you three." Said McGonagall, and she led them across the castle to her office. Once in, she closed and locked the door. When she turned around, she was grinning.

"Wood, I have found you two Seekers." She announced.

The boy beamed. "Really Professor?"

"Yes, and they're wonderful," McGonagall said, but then Wood frowned.

"Two Seekers? Is that legal?" he asked. The girls were completely lost. They knew about Quidditch and the positions, but they couldn't believe that McGonagall thought they should be Seekers…and there was only one Seeker…

McGonagall seemed to have been waiting for this, and she opened a large, dusty book.

"In 1912-1915 the Quidditch team The Fizzing Finaglers had two people try out for seeker who were perfectly matched in skill." She stated, pointing towards a section. "They could think of no way to decide who should play Seeker, so they went to the Department of Magical Games and Sports and after a vote, they decided that the two would play Seeker together, on one broomstick. The other teams all agreed, because it helped as much as it hindered. It took a lot of control to stay on, and both had to steer the same way, or risk tipping over. They had to train very had to be able to work together perfectly, and they did wonderfully throughout their time with the Finaglers."

She turned back to Wood, who was beaming again, practically bouncing up and down in happiness.

"And the other teams will agree because of the risks!" he cried happily. He turned to the twins. "You'll both do great, I'm sure, because you already know each other so well! This is the happiest day of my life!" he finally said, nearly in tears, and bent down to embrace the girls painfully.

"Wow, I just can't believe that," Millie said.

"That's so amazing!" Ron cried. "You'll be famous!"

"We're already famous." Tabitha reminded him.

"Oh…right."

"Wait, hold it you guys!" cried Hermione, holding the same battered old book McGonagall had used. The Gryffindor head of house had loaned it to the girls so they could explain to their friends. "Did McGonagall tell you what happened to those two seekers?" asked Hermione. They shook their heads. "They died in 1915! They turned opposite directions and flipped. They fell over four hundred feet!"

"Yeah, but that won't happen to us!" cried Matilda confidently, throwing an arm over her twin's shoulders. "We're twins. We can practically read each others minds!"

Everyone else agreed, and Hermione finally said that they were probably right.

That night at dinner, Fred and George came over to congratulate the girls and explain that they were Beaters on the team. No sooner had they left than, Malfoy arrived with…was that Theodore Nott? It was, and they were both flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Having a last meal before they ship you back to the Muggles, Potter?" Malfoy sneered.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got you're little friends with you, Malfoy." Said Tabitha coolly. Of course, there was nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but the thugs couldn't do anything in front on the teachers except crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take either of you any time by myself," said Malfoy. "How about a Wizard's Duel tonight, wands only? Tabitha against me, Matilda versus Nott."

"Or haven't you two heard of a wizard's duel?" smirked Nott.

"Of course they have!" cried Millie, standing up. "Me and Ron'll be their seconds, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. "Crabbe,"

"Then I'll take Goyle." Said Nott as if the two larger boys weren't even there. "We'll meet at midnight, the trophy room. That's always unlocked." Then they left.

"Okay, that was weird." Said Matilda. "Since when do Malfoy and Nott hang out?"

"Good question, but what's a second?" asked Tabitha.

"Oh, a second is there to take over if you die." Ron said. Seeing the look on the girls' faces, he added. "But people only die in proper duels. The most you four will be able to do is send sparks at each other."

"But what if we wave our wands and nothing happens?" demanded Matilda.

"Throw them away and punch them in the nose." Suggested Millie.

The girls shrugged. "All right." They said in unison.

"Are you insane?" Hermione demanded, "You'll get in so much trouble!"

"I agree with Hermione," said Euterpe. "They're both up to something…"

"Well they have to now!" cried Aaric, "otherwise Malfoy will spread it around that they're scared."

"Yeah," agreed Tabitha.

"You can't! Don't you know how many rules you'll be breaking?" Hermione demanded, "You'll lose us points, and it's really selfish of you!"

"Well it's really none of your business." Said Matilda angrily.


	6. The Resorting

**Note: I know the timeline is messed up in this story, especially in the second chapter and in this one, but I don't think it interferes with the underlining plot. **

* * *

Chapter 5: The First day

Tabitha and Matilda woke before the others the next day, used to getting up early at the Dursleys, and they sat on Matilda's bed, discussing things.

"I think I read something in one of our books that said curse scars give warnings sometimes," said Tabitha, referring to dinner last night when their scars had hurt. "Against danger or even the people who caused them."

Matilda nodded. "I remember that now. But what could Professor Snape have to do with that?"

Tabitha shrugged. "Maybe it was just a coincidence. He didn't look very nice, but we haven't even met him yet, so it's not fair to judge."

Matilda agreed. "Charity said that some people think Voldemort is gone forever, but none of the teachers do…I think that if Dumbledore thinks he'll be back, then he'll be back. Dumbledore is supposed to be the most powerful wizard in a century; he probably knows what he's talking about."

The other twin nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right. Hopefully it won't happen soon."

They were quite for a moment, then Matilda said, "Professor Quirrell…he doesn't seem like a good Defence teacher…"

Tabitha nodded. "I was thinking that too. He's so nervous all the time, poor guy…"

"We could get some Defence books from the library," Matilda suggested, pulling off her glasses and wiping them one her shirt to see better. "Maybe the others would even help us."

"We should see what his classes are like first," disagreed Tabitha. "He _could_ be a good teacher. Charity said he was brilliant; maybe he's one of those 'blossom under pressure' people: put him in a normal situation, he stutters, but put him in from of a vampire or something, and he knows what he's doing."

"I suppose..." Matilda said reluctantly. Neither twin liked being proven wrong, even by each other, but what Tabitha had said made a lot of sense.

At that moment, Euterpe groaned softly, rolling over and sitting up. One by one the other girls also woke, and they all dressed in their gold and red uniforms and went downstairs.

Tabitha and Matilda thought the uniforms were very nice: the silk lining of the robes in the main House colour, for instance, was very comfortable and they saw older students who had modified their uniforms just slightly to be different. One Ravenclaw girl had a blue tie with bronze polka dots instead of diagonal stripes, and a Hufflepuff had changed the buttons on her sweater to be large yellow ones instead of small and black. The twins had a thought that in Muggle schools they'd get in trouble for this, but none of the teachers in Hogwarts seemed to mind. They decided to ask Charity about it later, before they tried to change anything; perhaps the teachers didn't mind as long as the uniforms were the proper colours and not inappropriate.

Matilda, Tabitha, Hermione, and Euterpe sat with Neville, Aaric, and Ron for breakfast that morning, and a few minutes into the meal Hedwig flew in with the other owls, which – luckily – Charity had warned them about, as it was quiet a shock. Hedwig dropped a letter in front of the twins and landed to drink from Tabitha's cup.

The Potter twins exchanged looks: who would write to them?

It was from Hagrid.

**_Dear Tabitha and Matilda,_**

**_I was wondering if you two'd be interested in joining me for tea this afternoon after your last class. Please send Hedwig back with your answer, and feel free to bring friends with you._**

**_Hagrid._**

The girls asked the others, and they all agreed to go, so Tabitha quickly sent Hedwig with a scribbled response.

Soon they were given their schedules by Professor McGonagall and found that they had four classes that day: Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Herbology. The girls were rather excited, all of them having studied all the subjects beforehand – though Euterpe was forced to by her grandmother (she did enjoy learning, but hated being forced to do work like that, she told them), and Hermione was quite obsessive about it, unlike Matilda and Tabitha, who were simply curious. Neville was worried about not doing well, except in Herbology, which he was quite good at. Apparently he could bring almost any plant back from a Very Crunchy And Brown state, which the others thought was quite impressive. Aaric and especially Ron seemed to be dreading the classes, though they admitted to some excitement towards trying spells.

In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall gave them a stern talking-to, saying that she would not accept misbehaviour, and wasn't afraid to kick any of them out of the class should they misbehave. Then she turned her desk into a pig, making the twins and their classmates much more excited about the upcoming lesson.

...Only to be let down when they found out they would not be turning furniture into animals anytime soon. They were all given a matchstick and told to make it into a needle.

By the end of the class, Tabitha managed to turn her matchstick silver and pointy, but it was still the same thickness, and lacked an eye. Matilda's was thin and had an eye, but was still coloured like a matchstick and not pointy at all. Ron's had gained a hole, and Aaric's was thin and silver, but only Hermione and Euterpe had managed to turn theirs completely into needles, earning the Professor's praise and twenty points for Gryffindor. Poor Neville hadn't managed to do anything to the needle, but he made up for it in the next class, Herbology, where he answered more questions than all the rest of the class put together, and more creatively as well. By the end, Matilda, Tabitha, and Euterpe stopped raising their hands all together, as did Hermione (though she looked rather disappointed about it). In all, Neville became somewhat of a hero for earning fifty points for Gryffindor by himself.

Next was Defence, and – as Matilda had predicted – Quirrell proved to be a knowledgeable teacher, but he was so scared of the Dark Arts that he could barely talk about it, let alone demonstrate the Defence of it. He simply had them copy down notes about Dark creatures.

With this new development, the twins decided to talk to their friends. At lunch Tabitha and Matilda explained their idea to the other five.

"So let me get this straight," said Ron, "You think You-Know-Who is going to come back someday, and since Quirrell isn't a very good Defence teacher, we should practice Defence ourselves."

Tabitha and Matilda both nodded.

"You're mad," said Aaric, but he was grinning. "I'm in. I think it's just a matter of time too, so we should be prepared."

"I agree." Said Euterpe, and Hermione nodded.

"I'm sure I'll be terrible at it, but I'll try anyway." Said Neville reluctantly. After a second, Ron agreed as well.

"We just need somewhere to practice when we have time." Said Tabitha thoughtfully.

"Ask Fred and George," suggested Ron, "They know every secret passage and room in the school."

Next was Potions in the dungeons. Tabitha and Matilda tried to keep an open mind about Snape, but it was hard. Everyone was telling their own horror stories about the potion's master, and the twins started to feel a bit nervous. Honestly, they were quite excited to start, because it seemed a lot like cooking, which Tabitha and Matilda were good at.

Snape started the class by taking register, and stopped at Tabitha's and Matilda's names.

"Ah, yes," he said softly. "The Potters'…our new celebrities."

The Slytherin half of the class snickered. The twins looked at each other nervously.

Once he was finished with his role call, Snape eyed the class with his black eyes, which reminded the girls a bit of Hagrid, though they held none of Hagrid's warmth. They were like light-less black tunnels, void of emotion.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," He began. He spoke in a whisper, but they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

"As there is little foolish wand–waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Aaric and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Neville was staring nervously at the floor. Euterpe had an eyebrow raised in disbelief. The twins blinked rapidly at each other, not sure what to think. Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Tabitha Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Tabitha thought back to her potions books as Hermione raised her hand hopefully, then answered, "Wouldn't asphodel and wormwood make a powerful sleeping potion, sir? Called the Draught of Living Death, I think?"

Hermione lowered her hand, looking slightly disappointed. If it'd been any other teacher, Tabitha would have won points for Gryffindor. However, Snape merely barked, "Well, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar, Matilda Potter?"

Hermione's hand shot up again. Matilda responded, "A bezoar is a stone that can be found in the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons, sir."

Hermione lowered her hand and Snape snapped, "What is the difference, Miss Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There is no difference, sir," replied Tabitha.

"They are the same plant, also known by the name of aconite." Finished Matilda.

Snape looked slightly taken aback and something flickered in his eyes. The twins thought it looked almost like sadness. Then the look disappeared and Snape snapped, "Well? Why aren't you copying it all down?" There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, he said, "Potter, you both win a point for Gryffindor for getting the answers correct. You also lose two points for being know-it-alls."

The twins stared at Snape, shocked by his unfairness. However, if they had said they didn't know the answers, he would have probably taken points off for that. Ron and Euterpe glared at Snape. Aaric would have protested, but Neville nudged him, and he settled for glaring at the potions professor.

They spent the rest of the class making a simple potion to cure boils. Ron and Hermione were partners, as were Aaric and Neville, while Matilda was paired up with Euterpe and Tabitha with Parvati. The girls had a feeling that Snape wanted an extra chance to criticize them, and that was the reason he split them up, but he didn't get it. The girls and their partners worked quickly and thoroughly, producing perfect potions. Ron's and Hermione's was really more than perfect, as Hermione had added something that would cause the skin to repel warts in the future, but Snape snapped that they didn't need to alter the potions, and that next time they would loose points.

Neville and Aaric were doing well until Neville added the porcupine quills too soon, causing the potion to mangle the cauldron into a blob. The potion went everywhere, burning everyone's feet and Neville, who was drenched in it, moaned as red boils erupted over his skin. Aaric looked a bit annoyed and a bit sympathetic at the same time.

Soon everyone else was forced to clamber onto their stools to avoid getting burned.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, vanishing the potion with a wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking it off the fire, correct?"

"Actually, it was my fault, Professor," said Aaric, "I added the quills."

Neville stared at him in amazement.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your carelessness, MacDonald," spat Snape, "Now go take Longbottom up to the hospital wing."

After class when the twins, Hermione, Ron, and Euterpe were walking up the dungeon stairs, they heard Malfoy snickering behind them.

"Did you see Longbottom? What a clumsy idiot," He was saying. The Slytherins behind him laughed. "I don't believe for a second that MacDonald added those quills."

"Don't talk about him like that!" cried Euterpe suddenly, whipping around. "Neville's worth twelve of you, no matter how he does in potions!"

Malfoy laughed, "I see you're quiet partial to him now, Noble. Wouldn't have anything to do with what happened this summer, would it?"

Euterpe went red and pulled out her wand. "Don't you dare…no one is supposed to know about that. It's not even official." She said, sounding beyond furious.

Malfoy grinned. "Really?" he glanced down at her left hand, then back up. "Looks pretty official to me…but it makes since that you'd be ashamed of Longbottom."

"I'm not!" Euterpe cried. "He's been my friend my whole life, and he and his grandmother are good people, which is more than I can say for your family."

Malfoy glared at her. People around them were stopping to watch, but the two opposing first years didn't notice.

"My family's blood is purer that any other," declared Malfoy in a snarl. "How dare–"

"Like blood matters," said Euterpe, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, the most powerful witches and wizards, statistically speaking, are Muggle-Born or raised. Besides, everyone knows your parents were Death Eaters, Malfoy, and I'd rather be friends with a werewolf than you."

Malfoy's eyes went wide. "My parents weren't–"

"And I'm the Brazilian Minister of Magic," said Euterpe. "Save your lies for the Ministry. They're the only ones who'll believe them."

Then she pushed past him and stalked out of sight, followed by the other four.

Tabitha, Matilda, and Hermione were shocked. Ron looked as impressed as the twins felt.

"Where did that come from?" asked Ron, awestruck.

"I can't stand him…how he found out…" Euterpe paced the empty corridor she had stomped into and ignoring Ron's question.

"What was he saying about you and Neville, anyway?" asked Hermione, and the others nodded.

Euterpe sighed. "Well, our grandmothers are good friends, and wanted a way to unite the families. They're very old–fashioned, you see…"

She didn't seem to be able to finish her sentence, but it slowly dawned on Ron.

"Oh, I get it!" he cried, "An arranged marriage!"

"Between you and Neville? Really?" said Hermione, looking confused.

"Yes," said Euterpe, "since we were three." She held up her hand, and on it was a thin gold ring with three pink sapphires oval-cut and separated by small diamonds. "They told us that when we come of age, if we really don't want to marry each other or fell in love with someone else, they'll break it off. Since it's magical as well, that's the only thing that will break it."

"That's terrible!" cried Hermione.

"No, it really isn't," Euterpe insisted. "No one knows Neville like me, and someday he'll turn out to be a hero. He'll be very brave, I guarantee it."

Then they reached the hospital wing, and Euterpe told Neville what had happened with everyone, and what their friends now knew. Aaric was shocked as well, but he seemed to agree with what Euterpe had said about Neville, though he didn't voice it.

The seven children went to see Hagrid that afternoon. The giant was beaming as he opened the door. "Hello there! Come in, all o' yeh," he beckoned them inside with one giant hand, holding back a large boarhound by its collar.

"This here is Fang," he said, seeing Neville's nervous face. "He won' hurt you none, don' worry abou' that. Big softy, he is."

Fang jumped up and began licking Ron's ears.

They sat down at the table and the others started to introduce themselves.

"I'm Ron Weasley," said Ron, trying to tug Fang off him.

Hagrid chuckled. "I though' so," he said, thumping Ron on the back good-naturedly and causing him to slosh tea all over himself and the dog, who looked delighted and began licking it up. "I reckon I've spent half me life chasing your two brothers away for the forest."

"I'm Aaric MacDonald," said Aaric next.

Hagrid smiled, "I remember your parents…July and August, right?" Aaric nodded. "They were nice kids, they were. Hufflepuff. Used ter help me with the pumpkins…" he said fondly. "I had the bigges' one ever the year yer mum and dad invented a potion ter help them grow. Been usin' it ever sense."

"I'm Euterpe Noble," said Euterpe, petting Fang behind the ears. "My grandmother told me about the giant pumpkins you grow for Halloween ever year."

"That I do," said Hagrid, nodding. "It's that somethin' extra I give them."

"I'm Hermione Granger," said Hermione last. "My parents are muggles."

Hagrid looked surprised. "Is tha' right? Well, Hermione, the teachers are quite impressed by you, from what I hear."

Hermione beamed.

After a few minutes, the conversation turned to their Potions class. The seven told Hagrid about how terrible Snape had been to Tabitha and Matilda in class. Hagrid told them that their dad and Snape hadn't gotten along well in school, and that he was probably still holding a grudge for it. The twins thought he should get over it. Wasn't he supposed to be an adult?


	7. The Flying Lesson

Chapter 7: Flying Lesson 

Days after the students had really settled in, the first years awoke to find a notice pinned to the message board in the common room. It informed them that they would be having flying lessons with the Slytherins that day.

Tabitha and Matilda groaned in unison.

"What?" Ron frowned.

"Look, Mat, just what we've always wanted," said Tabitha sarcastically.

"Yeah, to make fools of ourselves in front of Malfoy." Matilda agreed.

"You won't make fools of yourselves," said Hermione.

"Yeah. Malfoy talks a lot, but I bet he can't really fly." Said Euterpe.

But for the rest of the day, Hermione and Neville read all the flying books they could find. Neville's grandmother had never let him near a broomstick, but Aaric, Euterpe, Millie, and Ron already knew how to fly, so they weren't worried, though Aaric didn't like it that much – for sport, at least – and Euterpe hadn't been allowed to fly often. Millie, however, frequently played with her cousins as a beater, and was very good.

Around two, the Gryffindor first years headed out to the Quidditch pitch. They got there before the Slytherins, and Hermione was busily whispering last minute tips to everyone. It was to the relief of all but her and Neville when Madam Hooch arrived, the Slytherins close behind.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Put your hand over a broomstick and say 'up'!"

They all did as told. Matilda's and Tabitha's brooms flew right into their hands. Millie's rose a little more than a foot, Ron's tilted off the ground slightly, and Hermione's simply rolled over. Neville's didn't move at all. Madam Hooch congratulated the twins, then told the others to try again. Several brooms went up this time: Millie's, Aaric's, Ron's, Euterpe's, and Malfoy's. Finally, after three more tries, all the brooms were up.

"All right, now mount your brooms." They all did. "On my whistle, you'll kick off from the ground, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. Ready? Three, two–" but Neville, anxious not to be left on the ground, had kicked off too early. He rose rapidly into the air; four feet, five feet, six feet…Everyone looked on in shock.

"Mr. Longbottom, come down here this instant!" cried Madam Hooch, but Neville was out of control. He continued to rise up, then at about twenty or so feet he started sliding off the end and fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

The other seven gasped, running towards Neville and ignoring Madam Hooch's cries. Thanks to her long legs, the flying instructor made it first. Neville's face was pressed into the grass, and he moaned, his arm bent in a funny way.

"Oh dear, a broken wrist," murmured Madam Hooch, helping Neville up. "Come on, boy. Madam Pomfrey will fix this in a jiffy."

They started walking back towards the castle, and Madam Hooch called back, "You are all to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. If I see one broom in the air, the one riding it will be out of Hogwarts before they can say 'Quidditch'."

The Slytherins were all openly laughing now, and the Gryffindors glared at them.

"Hey, look!" cried Malfoy through his laughter. He picked up something off the ground, and the seven recognized it as the Rememberall Neville had received from his grandmother that morning. "Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he'd have remembered to fall on his fat arse!" he cried, prompting more laughter from the Slytherins. Before the Gryffindors could stop him, he rapped the ball hard with his wand, causing it to break in half.

"Give it here, Malfoy," demanded Tabitha angrily, stepping forward.

"No." Malfoy said, glaring at her. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for him to find." He grabbed his broom and mounted it, soaring upwards effortlessly. He _could_ fly.

Simultaneously, Tabitha and Matilda grabbed their brooms and mounted them.

"No way, you guys!" Hermione cried, running forward.

"Yeah," agreed Aaric hurriedly. "I mean, you don't even know how to fly!"

But Tabitha and Matilda ignored the pleas of their friends in favour of the Gryffindor instincts churning through them and took off.

It was so easy, so natural that it shocked both of the girls. It was very simple to tilt slightly one way to turn, lean back to slow down, and forward to speed up. They ascended until they were even with Malfoy about a hundred feet in the air.

"Give it here or we'll knock you off your broom!" yelled Matilda. Malfoy looked stunned, but quickly shook himself.

"Oh yeah?" Malfoy said, but his confidence was failing. The shock of seeing the twins, who had been Muggle-raised, flying with ease, must have gotten to him.

"Not so brave without your body guards, are you?" Tabitha sneered.

"We'll see who's brave!" cried Malfoy. He took one half of the Rememberall in each hand and threw the pieces hard in different directions.

The girls didn't think, just acted. Matilda followed one piece straight down, pulling up just in time and rolling gently onto the grass with it in her hand. Tabitha followed the other that went bouncing down the window ledges on the castle. Focusing only on the half-sphere, she didn't notice whose window she was in front of when she spun completely upside down to catch it, landing on the ground by the others seconds later.

There was a pause, then all Gryffindors cheered, surrounding the two girls, patting them on the back, and congratulating them.

"Wow, that was amazing!," cried Parvati.

"That flip, Tabitha, wow!" said Ron, impressed.

"I've never even seen professionals pull up that fast!" moaned Euterpe enviously, grinning.

"Miss Potter!" cried an angry voice, and everyone froze. The Slytherins were smirking, but the Gryffindors were all pale. It was Professor McGonagall.

She stepped up to the twins, looking severe and very tight–lipped. "Both of you will come with me now." She said simply.

"But Professor, it wasn't their fault!" cried Lavender.

"It was Malfoy, he–"

"That's enough, Miss Brown and Miss Patil."

"You don't understand, Professor!" cried Euterpe.

"He broke Neville's Rememberall!" Dean said, pointing angrily at Malfoy.

"He had it, way up there, he was flying too, and then he threw it!" yelled Millie.

"That is quiet enough from all of you." Professor McGonagall said angrily. "Miss Potter and Miss Potter, come with me!" and she strode off, leaving the girls with no choice but to follow.

McGonagall didn't speak as they ascended staircases, went through doors, and passed curious students. The twins felt terrible. They hadn't even managed to last a month, and now they would be expelled. What would the Dursley's say when they arrived at their doorstep?

But Professor McGonagall didn't lead them to Dumbledore's office; instead they stopped in front of the Defence classroom. McGonagall stuck her head in and said, "Excuse me, Quirinus, but could I borrow Wood for a moment, please?"

In a second, a tall fifth year boy stood in front of them, looking curiously at Tabitha and Matilda.

"Follow me, you three." Said McGonagall, and she led them across the castle to her office. Once in, she closed and locked the door. When she turned around, she was grinning.

"Wood, I have found you two Seekers." She announced.

The boy beamed. "Really Professor?"

"Yes, and they're wonderful," McGonagall said, but then Wood frowned.

"Two Seekers? Is that legal?" he asked. The girls were completely lost. They knew about Quidditch and the positions, but they couldn't believe that McGonagall thought they should be Seekers…and there was only one Seeker…

McGonagall seemed to have been waiting for this, and she opened a large, dusty book.

"In 1912-1915 the Quidditch team The Fizzing Finaglers had two people try out for seeker who were perfectly matched in skill." She stated, pointing towards a section. "They could think of no way to decide who should play Seeker, so they went to the Department of Magical Games and Sports and after a vote, they decided that the two would play Seeker together, on one broomstick. The other teams all agreed, because it helped as much as it hindered. It took a lot of control to stay on, and both had to steer the same way, or risk tipping over. They had to train very had to be able to work together perfectly, and they did wonderfully throughout their time with the Finaglers."

She turned back to Wood, who was beaming again, practically bouncing up and down in happiness.

"And the other teams will agree because of the risks!" he cried happily. He turned to the twins. "You'll both do great, I'm sure, because you already know each other so well! This is the happiest day of my life!" he finally said, nearly in tears, and bent down to embrace the girls painfully.

"Wow, I just can't believe that," Millie said.

"That's so amazing!" Ron cried. "You'll be famous!"

"We're already famous." Tabitha reminded him.

"Oh…right."

"Wait, hold it you guys!" cried Hermione, holding the same battered old book McGonagall had used. The Gryffindor head of house had loaned it to the girls so they could explain to their friends. "Did McGonagall tell you what happened to those two seekers?" asked Hermione. They shook their heads. "They died in 1915! They turned opposite directions and flipped. They fell over four hundred feet!"

"Yeah, but that won't happen to us!" cried Matilda confidently, throwing an arm over her twin's shoulders. "We're twins. We can practically read each others minds!"

Everyone else agreed, and Hermione finally said that they were probably right.

That night at dinner, Fred and George came over to congratulate the girls and explain that they were Beaters on the team. No sooner had they left than, Malfoy arrived with…was that Theodore Nott? It was, and they were both flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Having a last meal before they ship you back to the Muggles, Potter?" Malfoy sneered.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got you're little friends with you, Malfoy." Said Tabitha coolly. Of course, there was nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but the thugs couldn't do anything in front on the teachers except crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take either of you any time by myself," said Malfoy. "How about a Wizard's Duel tonight, wands only? Tabitha against me, Matilda versus Nott."

"Or haven't you two heard of a wizard's duel?" smirked Nott.

"Of course they have!" cried Millie, standing up. "Me and Ron'll be their seconds, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. "Crabbe,"

"Then I'll take Goyle." Said Nott as if the two larger boys weren't even there. "We'll meet at midnight, the trophy room. That's always unlocked." Then they left.

"Okay, that was weird." Said Matilda. "Since when do Malfoy and Nott hang out?"

"Good question, but what's a second?" asked Tabitha.

"Oh, a second is there to take over if you die." Ron said. Seeing the look on the girls' faces, he added. "But people only die in proper duels. The most you four will be able to do is send sparks at each other."

"But what if we wave our wands and nothing happens?" demanded Matilda.

"Throw them away and punch them in the nose." Suggested Millie.

The girls shrugged. "All right." They said in unison.

"Are you insane?" Hermione demanded, "You'll get in so much trouble!"

"I agree with Hermione," said Euterpe. "They're both up to something…"

"Well they have to now!" cried Aaric, "otherwise Malfoy will spread it around that they're scared."

"Yeah," agreed Tabitha.

"You can't! Don't you know how many rules you'll be breaking?" Hermione demanded, "You'll lose us points, and it's really selfish of you!"

"Well it's really none of your business." Said Matilda angrily.


	8. The Midnight Duel

**Chapter 8: Midnight Duel**

That night at eleven thirty, Matilda and Tabitha woke and quietly pulled on their dressing gowns. They woke Millie, then met Ron and Aaric at the bottom of the stairs. As the five crept through the common room, a light suddenly turned on.

It was Hermione and Euterpe.

Ron groaned.

"You really shouldn't do this, it's so irresponsible!" Hermione said.

"Malfoy and Nott are up to something," insisted Euterpe. "You'll get caught!"

They followed the twins, Aaric, Ron, and Millie out into the hall, muttering under their breath about how stupid this was.

"We have to go, we accepted!" said Matilda.

"Just go back to bed and leave us alone!" said Ron harshly. The two girls glared at him, and turned to go back into the common room when they saw that the fat lady was gone.

"Oh no!" cried Hermione in a whisper.

"Good luck with that," said Aaric as the other five rounded a corner.

There were footsteps.

"We're coming with you." Hermione said.

"No!" cried Ron angrily.

"Well, we can come…or we can go to Professor McGonagall and tell her why we're locked out." Euterpe said.

So the seven of them continued down the hall towards the grand staircase.

"What was that?" Millie said suddenly, stopping.

"What?" asked Ron, obviously frustrated with all the delays.

"Listen!" Millie demanded, and the others obeyed.

They could just barely hear a faint sound coming from up the hall. It sounded vaguely like whimpering.

Walking a bit faster, they soon came upon a curled up figure on a window ledge.

"Neville?" gasped Euterpe.

Neville sat up, and they saw that he was still wearing his rumpled uniform.

"I got out of the hospital a few hours ago, but I couldn't remember the password!" he explained. "By the time I did, the Fat Lady was gone, so I was going to sleep out here…"

"It's almost midnight!" Millie said urgently.

"C'mon Neville, you can come with us," said Matilda, and they all continued quickly down to the trophy room.

Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't there yet, but the twins took out their wands just in case.

"Maybe they chickened out?" suggested Ron after a minute.

Then came a whisper... "They're in here somewhere, my sweet…"

It was Filch.

Neville gasped, and Millie slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Here that, my sweet? They're close…"

Tabitha motioned for them to follow her, and they tiptoed in the opposite direction of Filch's voice. Neville's robes had just whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere…probably hiding." They heard him mutter.

'This way!' The twins mouthed to the others. They began to creep down a long gallery of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer…

Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run – he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, who grabbed Millie, who grabbed Euterpe, who grabbed Hermione, who fell into Aaric, who tripped the twins and they all landed on a suit of armour, breaking it and causing a noise loud enough to awaken the whole castle.

"RUN!" yelled the twins in unison, and – not even checking to see if Filch was behind them – they dove through a doorway. After about three more doors, six corridors, and two secret passageways, they ended up near the Charms classroom, miles from the Trophy Room.

"I think we lost him," gasped Matilda, leaning against the wall. Neville was bent double, wheezing and coughing as Euterpe patted him on the back. Aaric had collapsed to the floor.

"I – _told_ – you," gasped Hermione, clutching a stitch in her side.

"Trap…" said Euterpe, rubbing her head where she had hit the suit of armour, "Knew it was a trap…"

"…_Told _you…never listen…" Hermione was still muttering.

"We have to get back to the common room," said Ron, "Quickly as possible."

"Let's go." agreed Aaric.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that simple. A doorknob rattled and something shot out in front of them

It was Peeves. When he saw them, he squealed in delight.

"Shut up, Peeves, please, you'll get us thrown out!" Millie begged.

Peeves cackled.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty…"

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." Begged Euterpe in a whisper.

"Should tell Filch, I should," Peeves said in a saintly voice. "It's for your own good you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves. This was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

They ran for their lives down to the end of the hall and into the door. It was locked.

"This is it!" Neville moaned.

"We're done for! This is the end!" cried Ron.

"Oh, move over!" ordered Hermione, shoving them out of the way. She pointed her wand at the lock and said, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked and she opened the door, the others quickly piling in behind her.

They heard Filch arguing with Peeves who was refusing to tell him anything. Peeves sped off, cackling, and Filch walked quickly away, no doubt to search other parts of the castle for them.

"Okay, let's just wait a few minutes and then – _what is it, Neville_?"

He had been tugging on Tabitha's sleeve for the past few seconds. When she finally turned around, she had to stifle a scream.

It was a dog. A giant, thirty-something foot dog with teeth the size of Euterpe and –

And it had three heads.

At once, everyone lunged for the doorknob. Between Filch and death, they'd take Filch. The dog seemed to acknowledge their presence then, and let out an earthshaking bark.

They ran for it.

They didn't so much as slow down until they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who – luckily – was back in her frame.

"Where have you children been?" she demanded curiously, taking in their rumpled clothes.

"Never mind that," panted Matilda. "Pig snout, pig snout!"

She swung open, and they all ran inside, collapsing into arm chairs. No one spoke for awhile. Neville looked like he'd never talk again.

Finally Ron said, "What do they think they're _doin_g, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You don't use your eyes, any of you! It was standing on a trap door!"

"I wasn't really that concerned with the feet," said Aaric shakily, "I was a little preoccupied with its heads, or maybe you didn't notice: there were three!"

"But that means it was guarding something!" said Tabitha. She turned to Matilda, thinking of the conversation they had had with Charity in the car while driving home. "Remember when Charity told us that Hagrid was in Diagon Alley, getting something for Dumbledore from Gringotts?"

Matilda gasped. "Right! She said that he was moving it here to protect it better!"

"I bet that's what the dog's guarding!" Millie agreed.

Hermione stood up.

"That's all good and well, but if you don't mind, I'm going to bed before any of you come up with another brilliant plan to get us killed…or worse, expelled."


	9. The Troll

**Chapter 9: The Troll**

A few nights later, the girls had their first Quidditch practice. Wood asked for three people from Gryffindor to volunteer to play a Chaser, a Seeker and a Keeper, so they could split the team in half and play a mock game. Millie volunteered to be the other keeper, a third-year girl named Sabrina Convess said she'd be a seeker, and James White of Wood's own year volunteered to play chaser. They were all three fairly good, and it helped practice a lot. The three became the reserve players for their respective positions.

Sabrina was good, and faster as she had a Cleansweep 10 and the girls only had an 6, but Tabitha and Matilda had better eyesight and coordination, and worked very well together, so they caught the snitch every time.

With practice three nights a week, and more Defence practice every time they could, not to mention homework, October went by fast. Before they knew it, it was Halloween day.

They were practicing the flying spell 'Wingardium Leviosa' in charms class, attempting to make a feather fly. Ron and Hermione were together, as were Euterpe and Neville, Matilda and Aaric, and Tabitha and Millie. The three latter groups all managed to get their feather only a few inches off the table, and only for a few seconds. Hermione, however, had mastered the spell in minutes and was trying to help Ron.

"Ron, no, listen. You're saying it wrong: it's Win–GAR–di–um LeviOsa. Make the 'gar' and 'o' nice and long."

After class – when everyone except for Ron, Seamus, and Neville had managed to make their feathers float all the way to the box – Ron was fuming.

"It's Levioooosa, not Leviosa!" he was saying to the others in a high–pitched voice. Hermione and Euterpe had stayed back to help Professor Flitwick. "She's a nightmare, honestly! It's a wonder we're even her friends–!" but then there was a sobbing noise, and someone shoved past Ron and ran away.

"Ron!" cried Millie, smacking him on the head.

"She must have heard you!" moaned Tabitha, standing tip-toes to see where Hermione had gone.

"How could you say something like that?" Aaric agreed. "She was just trying to help you!"

Ron looked ashamed. "You're right…I should apologise I guess…where d'you think she went?"

They searched the school between the next two classes, but still hadn't found her by lunch. As they were discussing what to do, Morrissey Evers from Ravenclaw came over, followed by her friends Morag McDougal and Mandy Brocklehurst.

"Have you been looking for your friend, Hermione?" she asked them. They nodded. "We just saw her in the bathroom down the hall. She was crying and she wouldn't come out."

Ron groaned.

"Thanks, Morrissey," said Tabitha and Matilda in unison.

"No problem." She smiled, and the three girls went back to the blue and bronze table.

After lunch, the girls went to try and talk to Hermione. Euterpe went in by herself, while the other three waited outside. She came out after a few minutes, shaking her head.

By dinner, no one had been able to get Hermione out of the bathroom, so they resolved that they should save her some candy from the Halloween feast, because she couldn't sleep in the bathroom, right? And when she came out, Ron would be ready with a very large apology.

During dinner, Tabitha found herself looking over to the Ravenclaw table. Morrissey, Mandy, and Morag were sitting with Terry Boot and Michael Corner. As Tabitha stared, she started thinking that she really liked how long Terry wore his hair…and that the red glasses he wore made him look very smart. Then she shook herself, trying to pay attention to her dinner.

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!" screamed a voice, and the Great Hall went quiet as Professor Quirrell ran in. He sprinted to the High Table, screaming all the way. "Thought you ought to know." He finished, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.

It was chaos. Everyone screamed and started to run for the doors, stampeding all over each other in the ensuing madness. Professor Dumbledore stood and – quite loudly – called for silence.

"All of you, please, don't panic! Prefects will lead their houses to dormitories; teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

Things calmed somewhat, and everyone began to file out of the Great Hall.

Then Neville gasped. "Hermione!"

Tabitha's eyes went wide. "That's right, she doesn't know!"

"We have to warn her," decided Matilda, and the seven of them slipped unnoticed through the crowd and into the corridor.

They ran down the hall until Millie suddenly said, "Wait! Listen..."

Footsteps.

They stepped into an empty classroom, shutting the door almost all the way and peering out.

It was Snape. He looked around before hurrying out a side corridor.

Euterpe frowned. "Shouldn't he be in the dungeons with the other teachers?"

"That doesn't matter right now; can't you guys smell that?" demanded Aaric. Then it hit them: a smell like rotting eggs and the type of public toilet that no one seems to clean.

And there, coming around the corner, was a twelve foot mountain troll. It lumbered into a room, dragging a club behind it.

"The key's in the door, we could lock it in!" suggested Ron, and they all nodded, running towards it.

Until they heard a sc*ream.

"Hermione!" cried seven voices.

But it was too late. The troll was walking back out, carrying by the scruff of her shirt none other then Hermione. It continued into a classroom down the hall, and the first-years ran after it.

"Help!" screamed Hermione. "Put me down!" she cried, beating the troll with her fists. For all the notice it gave her, she might have been a butterfly.

He stopped in a tall classroom that they had never been in before. He reached up and hung Hermione by the hem of her robe to the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, then turned around and saw the others. The troll roared loudly, starting for them.

"Spread out!" cried Matilda and Tabitha at the same time, and they all dove in different directions. The troll shook its head, confused, and reached back towards Hermione, obviously intending to take her someone he could eat her in peace, when Ron said, "Oi! Pea brain!" and chucked a book at the troll's head. It grunted and turned towards Ron, but then Millie grabbed another book and threw it, too.

"Confuse it!" Euterpe cried, and they all grabbed anything they could find and threw it at the troll, running around and jumping off of desks to confuse it. It grunted, swinging its club madly and swaying slightly on the spot.

"Okay, on three everyone stun it!" cried Tabitha, thankful they had all been able to master that particular spell. "One…two…"

"THREE!"

"STUPEFY!" they all cried, and seven jets of red light flew through the air, hitting the troll in the chest. He fell with a tremendous CRASH to the ground, smashing several desks to pieces in the process.

There was no time for celebration as Hermione's robes began to rip. She screamed, and they all ran forward, leaping onto the troll's back to be right under her as she fell.

They did manage to break her landing, because she landed on all of them. They tumbled off the troll and onto the floor.

After a second of staring from the troll to each other and back again, all eight children broke into hysterical laughter, rolling on the debris–strewn floor and embracing each other. Their luck was _unbelievable_.

Someone cleared their throat.

At the door to the classroom was none other than Professors McGonagall, Snape, Quirrell, and Flitwick. Quirrell took one look at the unconscious troll and clutched his heart, gasping, before plopping down on the floor.

"What in the – explain yourselves, all of you!" cried Professor McGonagall.

"Well we were at dinner –" began Ron quickly.

"–When Professor Quirrell came in yelling about the troll –" Aaric said.

"–And we remembered –"

"–That Hermione was in the bathroom –" Millie said, picking up from Neville.

"–And she didn't know about the troll –" said Ron.

"–So we went to warn her –" continued Matilda.

"–But the troll had her –" Euterpe said.

"–And he brought her in here –" said Millie.

"–So we followed it –" said Neville.

"–And confused it by throwing stuff –" Tabitha said.

"–And they managed to stun it, Professor." Hermione finished.

The teachers looked amazed, except for Snape – of course – who looked angry.

"Well…" McGonagall looked caught between giving them a month of detention or a thousand house points.

"It seems they did the only thing they could," squeaked Professor Flitwick. "If they had gone for a teacher, it might have been too late!"

"I suppose so…" said McGonagall slowly, "And an impressive display of your House attributes, as well. I think it's only fair to give you twenty–five points each." She said.

They could hardly believe their ears. That would be two hundred points for Gryffindor!

"All right," said Professor McGonagall, "The Houses are finishing the feast in their common rooms, so you can all head back there now."

They did as she said, and as soon as the eight First-Years crawled into the common room – which was empty except for their fellow first-years, a few second and third years, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan – they were assaulted.

"What happened?"

"You never came up–"

"– Said something about a troll!"

"–Thought you'd been _expelled_!"

Everyone was talking at once, and Millie cried, "Okay, calm down. Quiet!" they obeyed.

"Well…what happened was, I was in the bathroom and I didn't know about the troll…" began Hermione.

Ron picked up, "So we went to go tell her–"

"–And then we saw the troll walk into the bathroom and come out with Hermione!" Matilda said, not mentioning the part about Snape creeping around. Their audience was now captivated, hanging on every word. It was empowering.

"So we followed it into this huge classroom," continued Matilda.

"And it noticed us and started to grab Hermione again, to take her somewhere else–" said Euterpe.

"– But Ron threw a book at it, and then Millie said we should confuse it, so we–"

"– All started throwing stuff and running around –" picked up Neville.

"Then we stunned it and barely caught Hermione when her robe ripped," Tabitha said.

"And then McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and Quirrell showed up," said Millie, and their audience gasped.

"So we explained what happened, and Professor McGonagall was actually a little impressed," said Hermione.

"And she ended up giving us twenty–five house points each," Matilda concluded.

Everyone gasped.

"That's…that's two hundred points!" cried Seamus. The other first–years looked amazed. Fred, George, and Lee were grinning manically.

"I think these kids are going to be good for us, George."

"I was thinking the same thing, Fred."


	10. The Quidditch Match

**_Chapter 9: The Quidditch Match_**

Tabitha and Matilda didn't know what was worse; people saying they'd be brilliant, or people saying they would be running under them with a mattress.

Most of those saying the latter were Slytherins, but some were concerned older students who actually though they might die. Percy, for instance. Their friends and fellow Quidditch members were sure they'd do great, but that didn't stop them from feeling queasy.

One day, three days before the match, several owls brought in a long, skinny package and dropped it in front of the twins. A letter fell on top of that.

"What do you think…" Matilda's voice trailed off. The others were speechless. Tabitha grabbed the letter and opened it first, which was a very good thing:

_DO NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE AT THE TABLE!_

_It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand. We don't want the other students to know we're bending the rules for you, so open it in private and TELL NO ONE_.

The friends glanced at each other, before they all got up as one and started for the door.

To their surprise, Pansy Parkinson, along with Odette Silverstein and Laura Jameson intercepted them at the door.

Pansy grabbed the package from Matilda before they could stop her and felt it.

"A broomstick, ah Potter?" she sneered, grinning. "You'll be in for it this time. First years aren't allowed brooms."

"Give it back, Parkinson!" said Millie, yanking the package roughly back.

"What seems to be the problem here?" squeaked Professor Flitwick, walking over to them.

"The Potter's have been sent a broomstick, Professor!" cried Odette gleefully.

"Ah yes!" said Flitwick merrily. "I heard about the special circumstances. I hope you two do well." He winked and left. Pansy looked like she had swallowed a lemon.

Once upstairs behind Koitleen's tapestry, everyone watched as Tabitha and Matilda ripped open the parcel.

Everyone gasped.

Shined to perfection, every twig perfectly in line, and, glistening on the handle, the words Nimbus Two Thousand in gold lettering.

"Wow," Ron breathed. "This match is in the cauldron."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The morning of, the girls could barely force down some toast and orange juice. The Gryffindor first years had surprised them by making a banner that said, "Matilda and Tabitha for Minister" in ink that flashed different colours. Dean Thomas – a very good drawer – had drawn a picture of a Gryffindor lion chewing up a snake under it.

The twins heard nothing of Wood's pep talk as they changed into their scarlet and gold uniforms. They followed behind Wood, Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Fred, and George, one of them on either side of the Nimbus. Ron, Hermione, Euterpe, Neville, Aaric, Millie and Hagrid, who had come out to watch the twins, were sitting with the other Gryffindor First-Years in the stands.

Madam Hooch ordered them to play a nice clean game, and then had Wood and the Slytherin captain – Marcus Flint – shake hands.

They took off.

Once in the air, the girls relaxed tremendously. Perfectly coordinated, they took their spot far over the other players and watched for the Snitch. Lee Jordan was commentating, and was frequently yelled at by Professor McGonagall for being biased and talking about how beautiful Angelina Johnson was, rather than the game itself. The twins found it quite humorous.

Soon Gryffindor scored, and the crowd erupted. The girls did some loop–d–loops to let off their excitement, then focused on the Snitch again.

After a few minutes, there was a cry of outrage from the red and gold crowd, and a good portion of the blue and bronze and black and yellow houses as well. Marcus Flint had purposely flown into the twins, pushing hard into Matilda's shoulder and nearly knocking her off.

"Red card, ref! Send him off!" cried Dean. At Ron's, Neville's, and Euterpe's confused looks, Hermione had to explain what a red card was to the others, then tell Dean that players weren't sent off the field in Quidditch.

Alicia scored the penalty points, and the gamed continued. Then…

"Hey – what's wrong with the twins?" Euterpe suddenly said, grabbing Hagrid's binoculars.

Tabitha and Matilda gasped as their broom lurched.

"What was that?" Tabitha cried, holding on tight.

"I don't know…maybe the wind?"

But it wasn't the wind. The broom jerked again, nearly unseating the girls.

"There's something wrong with the broom!" cried Millie, who had stolen a pair of binoculars from a nearby student.

"Maybe something happened when Flint crashed into them," Hermione suggested.

"Nah," said Hagrid, squinting up at the two. "Nothin' but powerful Dark magic can interfere with a Nimbus Two Thousan'…no kid could do tha' to a broom."

All three girls suddenly gasped in realization, and quickly began to scan the audience.

Meanwhile, Matilda was trying desperately to hang on to the tail of the broom while Tabitha tried not to slide of the end and fall into her. The game was completely on hold; Marcus Flint grabbed the quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing. Fred and George were flying near the twins, trying to pull them to safety on their brooms, but every time they got close, the broom jumped up another few feet. After a few minutes, they settled for circling under the twins, obviously intending to catch them if they fell.

"There!" cried Hermione and Euterpe at the same time.

"It's Snape!" Hermione said, "He's staring at them, mumbling, and he's not blinking! He must be cursing them!"

"But Quirrell's doing the same thing!" Euterpe protested. "Look!"

Indeed he was.

"Well, one must be trying the counter-curse!" said Hermione.

"We need to stop them!" yelled Ron, who was gingerly patting Neville on the back while the boy sobbed into Hagrid's large cloak.

"Leave it to us!" Euterpe and Hermione cried in unison.

The broom was now vibrating; Tabitha was straddling it, hanging upside down as she tried to reach her twin's hand without falling. Matilda was barely clinging to the last inches of the tail.

Two Gryffindor girls ran through the stands to the other side of the field, Euterpe going to crouch behind Quirrell, Hermione behind Snape. At the same time, they both murmured a spell and two jets of blue fire went shooting out of their wands.

At the same time in the air, there was a gasp and several screams; Matilda's fingers had slipped. Letting herself slide down the broom until only her knees were clasped around the twigs, Tabitha barely managed to grab Matilda's hand. At that second, the curse broke and the girls were able to clamber back onto their broom amidst cheers throughout the crowd. Neville was still sobbing, Millie was green, and Ron and Aaric were paper-white. Up in the air, the twins were both shaking from adrenaline, clutching each other tightly and trying to breathe deeply.

The game resumed with Gryffindor still in the lead. After just a few seconds, Matilda cried out in Tabitha's ear, "The Snitch! I see it!" she pointed down at the bottom of the Gryffindor goal posts and they dived, just scraping the ground as they grabbed it at the same time, one wing in each of the twin's hands – Tabitha's left, and Matilda's right.

The twins couldn't remember being this happy in a long time – though part of that may have been the adrenaline from their near death experience. After being hugged and kissed by everyone on the Gryffindor team – Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were all crying – they saw their friends.

"I can't believe you're alive!" Hermione exclaimed, nearly sobbing as she tackled the twins with Euterpe and Millie right behind her. Hagrid thumped them on the back roughly, and Neville congratulated them thickly through Hagrid's table-cloth sized handkerchief.

Once everyone went inside for lunch and the twins were just putting their broom away, they noticed Snape walking quickly towards the ForbiddenForest. The others had told them what Snape or Quirrell had been doing, so Matilda said, "Should we follow him?"

"That wouldn't be very nice…" Tabitha said slowly, before adding with a slight grin, "Definitely."

They hopped back on the Nimbus for speed and followed Snape into the forest, landing silently over him in a tree.

He wasn't alone.

Professor Quirrell was there, and it seemed like Snape was threatening him to find out what Quirrell knew about the three-headed dog and how to get past it. Quirrell stuttered that he didn't know anything, and Snape said he would be watching him, before he swooped away.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

During lunch Tabitha and Matilda told their friends what they had heard.

Hermione spoke first. "Well if we know what the dog is guarding already..."

"More or less, at least," broke in Aaric.

"Then we should try and find out what the dog is." Euterpe finished.

"Right," agreed Euterpe. "Let's think: who in Hogwarts is most likely to know about the dog?"

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would know," said Ron. "He knows everything."

"But we can't ask _him_," said Millie. "That would be too suspicious."

The children sat for a moment, thinking. After a few minutes, Hermione snapped her fingers.

"I know!" she cried. "Hagrid! He knows all about magical creatures."

"Great idea Hermione!" said Matilda. "We can go to his house after lunch."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"How'd you lot find out abou' Fluffy?" demanded Hagrid.

"Fluffy?" said Ron in disgust.

"Never mind that," said Tabitha. "Is he yours?"

"Yup," Hagrid said proudly. "I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the–"

"Yes?" Euterpe prompted.

"Never mind," he said quickly, "Tea?"

"Hagrid, we know he's guarding something," said Millie.

"That don' concern you," he insisted. "What's under that trap door is between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

"Oh, so there's someone named Nicholas Flamel involved!" cried Aaric.

Hagrid looked furious with himself.


	11. The First-Ever Presents

**Chapter 11: The First-Ever Presents**

In between classes, the eight Gryffindor First-Years could be found in the library reading every book they thought could be related to Nicholas Flamel. Even Hermione and Euterpe, the bookworms of the group, could not find anything about Nicholas Flamel. The worst part was, Tabitha and Matilda were sure they'd seen his name before somewhere!

Hermione, Neville, and Euterpe were all leaving Hogwarts for Christmas, but they were all also going to Euterpe's grandmother's Christmas party on the weekend after Christmas. The others who were staying at Hogwarts – Ron, Aaric, Tabitha, Matilda, and Millie – would be Flooing over through Professor McGonagall's office fireplace.

In the days leading up to Christmas, the castle was nearly deserted. Besides the five, Fred, George, and Percy, only a total of nine students remained. The Gryffindor First-Years spent their time reading, playing Wizard's Chess, having snowball fights, and eating as much as possible.

Tabitha and Matilda were fascinated by the Chronicles of Narnia Series when they borrowed the whole set from Hermione. They sat in a chair together and read for most of the day, and by Christmas Eve, they were one the third book, _Prince Caspian_.

The girls went to bed that night, very excited but not expecting any presents.

In hindsight, they should have realized that since they got gifts for their friends, they would get some in return.

"Tabitha! Matilda! Wake up, it's Christmas!" yelled Millie.

Tabitha shot out of bed.

"Whazzamatter?" she said incoherently, reaching around for her glasses.

There was a yelp as Matilda fell out of bed onto the cold floor.

"Presents!" Millie cried in response.

Sure enough, there was a pile of presents at the foot of all three beds.

"We have presents?" they gasped at the same time.

"Yeah!" Millie said happily, throwing one at each of them. They opened them and found…a black square.

It was a one-inch-by-one-inch piece of fabric. The twins looked at Millie in confusion. She grinned.

"Tap them with your wands."

They did, and the square grew into two beautiful black silk fedora hats. The girls had seen similar hats before, and they liked them, but they couldn't remember saying anything to Millie about it…

She grinned again. "I have an intuition for these things. My mum says my greatest talent is gift-picking."

They smiled back and thanked her happily, putting on the hats, which looked rather good on them, and passing Millie the presents they got her.

One was a tan and olive green plaid backpack and the other, a set of omnioculars. Millie had once mentioned a certain backpack she liked, and that she'd always wanted a pair of omnioculars, and they remembered.

Millie beamed when she opened them, hugging the girls tightly and thanking them several (hundred) times.

They opened the rest then, and then tallied their loot.

From Euterpe they had all received magical journals that could be used as diaries, and to communicate with their friends' journals as well. If you were to write EVERYONE followed by your message, then the text would appeared in all the linked journals – in other words, the other seven's journals. You could also send a message to one or two people in particular, just by writing the names. The journals could not be read if the writer didn't want them to be, and they never ran out of paper. The three girls got quite a surprise when they unwrapped the three plain black journals, only to have them transform right in front of their eyes.

Tabitha's journal grew in thickness, the paper becoming thicker than parchment and the cover turning into olive–green leather with a brown tree stencilled into the front. Matilda's lengthened, and was suddenly covered in hundreds of different fabric swatches and buttons. Millie's thickened as well, ending up at a natural tan leather that was very soft. On the covers, written in their own signature handwriting, was their full names:

**_Tabitha Lillian Jaimie Potter_**

**_Matilda Violet Alice Potter_**

**_Millicent "Millie" Buella Bulstrode_**

From Ron they each received a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. From Hermione, Millie got a large book on her favourite Quidditch team, The Holyhead Harpies, and Tabitha and Matilda received their own set of Chronicles of Narnia books. From Neville, each of the girls got a set of dress robes (no doubt to wear to the Christmas party, and most likely picked out by his grandmother); Tabitha's in silver, Matilda's in gold, and Millie's in a shimmering olive colour. Aaric must have consulted with Neville, because he got the three of them necklaces that matched the robes perfectly.

That was it from the children they knew, but the twins had four more presents total, and two letters, and Millie had two presents left.

The first they opened was from the Dursley's:

_We received your letter regarding Christmas presents. Enclosed is your gift._

_Enjoy._

It was two five-pence pieces.

"That's nice," said Tabitha, her eyebrows raised. Millie was fascinated by the Muggle money, however, and they gave them both to her.

Next they opened a letter from Charity:

_Dear Tabitha and Matilda,_

_Merry Christmas! I hope you've had a good first term, and it seems like it from the High Table._

_I'm happy to say that I have officially adopted the triplets, and Faith is very excited as she has always wanted younger siblings.. They're at our house right night for Christmas._

The girls paused for a second. Charity had told them in the third week of school that she was hoping to adopt Bethany, Kirsten, and Laurel Selma, three adorable and sweet girls whose parents had been wizards but had died due to an unfortunate joy-ride in a Muggle car. The triplets were two years younger than Faith, and the twins knew that Charity must be ecstatic; she had been working to adopt them since last May.

_I very much hope that you and your friends at Hogwarts will join the six of us for Christmas day. I've cleared it with Professor McGonagall, and she says that you can Floo here right from the Common Room. If you do want to join us, please don't unwrap the presents from me until you get here, but if not go right ahead._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Charity._

The girls grinned at each other.

"What is it?" Millie asked.

"Charity invited all of us over to spend Christmas with her and her family." Said Matilda. "We're supposed to Floo to–" she squinted at the address at the bottom, "–The Burbage Home, Ottery St. Catchpole."

"That's were the Weasley's live!" cried Tabitha. "Though they're in Romania right now…"

"Let's write to the others and ask them," said Millie, and they got out their journals.

There were already several notes written from Hermione, Neville, and Aaric to thank the twins or Millie for the gifts. Tabitha quickly wrote:

_Aaric, Ron:_

_Charity wrote us a letter asking if we would all like to spend Christmas with her and her family; would you guys like to go?_

Ron was the first to reply.

_I think that sounds fun. I'm in._

Then came Aaric's:

_Me two!_

The boys also added that they would get ready and meet the twins and Millie downstairs in a few minutes.

"So when will they be here?" asked Millie, stepping out of the bathroom wearing a robe and a towel over her wet hair.

"Just a few minutes, in fact," said Tabitha, grabbing a pair of red jeans and pulling them on, then her new jumper Mrs. Weasley had sent her, and Matilda and Millie did the same.

Tabitha's shirt was dark blue, Matilda's black, and Millie's was – of course – olive green, because everyone knew the colour looked great on her. The twins grabbed the mysterious presents from Charity and they ran down the stairs to the Gryffindor fire place.

Ron and Aaric were already there, but then Matilda realised something disheartening.

"Wait," Matilda said. "We don't know how to Floo."

"Oh, it's easy," said Millie, "Watch," she grabbed a handful of the sparkling emerald powder, and threw it into the flames. "Close your eyes and keep your elbows tucked in!" she advised, before stepping into the fire and saying the name Charity had written down at the bottom of the letter, "Burbage home, Ottery St. Catchpole!"

A whirl of green flames, and Millie was gone.

The twins gulped.

"Okay…I'll go next." Said Ron. He threw the powder into the fire and stepped in. "Burbage Home, Ottery St. Catchpole!"

And then he was gone.

Aaric went next, and suddenly it was only the twins.

"I'll go first," volunteered Matilda, grabbing some powder and throwing it down. Taking a deep breath and clutching the box against her, she stepped in and said, "Burbage Home, Ottery St. Catchpole!"

And she was gone.

Tabitha copied her twin's actions, and soon she was spinning past dozens of fireplaces, all of them a blur. In one, however, she caught a glimpse of a thin long-haired boy and another boy with short dark brown hair. From what she saw in the split second, the brown-haired boy was handing a gift to the other boy, who looked like he might cry.

She gasped, because these boys were none other than Terry Boot and Michael Corner.

Just after that, she spun to a stop and would have fallen to the floor if Millie and Matilda hadn't caught her.

"They're here mum! Grandma! They're here!" cried a voice, and the three of them looked around to see Faith running down the stairs, with another girl behind her.

"Tabitha, Matilda!" Charity cried, entering the room. The girls ran to hug her.

She greeted Aaric, Millie, and Ron, and then introduced them.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my family; Faith, Bethany, Kirsten, and Laurel, my daughters, and my mum, Hope. Oh, and this here is Luna Lovegood, a friend of Faith's who lives over near the Weasley's." Luna was a slightly strange girl with long blond hair and large silver-blue eyes. The girls knew that her father was editor of The Quibbler, a very strange magazine. "These are some of my students – thought they're not in my class yet – Tabitha, Matilda, Millie, Ron, and Aaric."

Everyone greeted each other, and the triplets were very excited to meet the twins.

"Our parents used to read about you to us," informed Kirsten. The three girls had long blond hair like Luna's, but it fell straight, and the only thing un-identical about them was their eyes: Bethany's were green, Kirsten's were grey, and Laurel's were dark blue.

"They say you're heroes," continued Bethany.

"Because you made Voldemort go away," finished Laurel.

Everyone but the twins gasped.

"What?" asked the triplets at once. The twins grinned.

"Most people don't say Voldemort's name," explained Matilda. There was another gasp.

"Our parents taught us that fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Informed Laurel.

A few minutes later, Charity insisted the girls open their presents from her.

"I think you'll really like them," she said, grinning.

Matilda and Tabitha ripped of the paper quickly – neither of them noticed the small holes in the box – and took off the lid. They screamed.

Inside each box was smallish creature with light tan fir. As the twins opened the boxes, they stirred, sitting up, and Matilda realized something.

"Sloths!" she cried, picking hers up. It was slightly smaller and darker-coloured than her twin's, and he immediately wrapped his arm around her hand, squeaking.

"They are indeed," Charity said. "I knew you two had Hedwig, but you can't really spend much time with an owl; they have to live all the way in the Owlery anyway. I went to the pet shop on Diagon Alley and asked what they had that was small and unique." She grinned at the sloths, which were climbing happily over the girls now. "These are magical sloths called Volutrabrum; they're very intelligent, loyal, and brave pets from the same family as Muggle sloths, but they're able to communicate in their own way, and even may talk, and they think for themselves. They even have some magical powers."

Loch and Jack, as they were named, were indeed very smart, and they loved mashed potatoes.

Everyone enjoyed the Christmas meal. Charity and Hope had cooked a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sprouts, five different kinds of pie, and tons of other things too wonderful to mention in one fanfiction. After the meal, Faith suggested they play six on six Quidditch, as there were twelve of them.

It was Tabitha, Ron, Millie, Kirsten, Luna, and Bethany against Matilda, Hope, Laurel, Faith, Charity, and Aaric. Tabitha was a Seeker, Ron the Keeper, Millie and Bethany both Beaters, and Kirsten and Luna were Chasers. Matilda was the other seeker, Hope the Keeper, Laurel and Faith the Chasers, and Charity and Aaric were Beaters.

Everyone flew well, so it was a fairly even match. Charity brought out her Quidditch balls which were charmed not the leave the property, and Lefty and Jack demanded to play as well, hanging on upside-down on the front of Tabitha's and Matilda's brooms.

It ended up that both teams scored fifty points by the end, and Tabitha just barely caught the snitch before her sister.

After the game, they all had to return to Hogwarts. Charity had sent a letter to Dumbledore and he said that she could bring the triplets, Faith, and her mother to the castle for dinner, as there would only be a few people anyway.

They Flooed to Gryffindor tower, startling Fred, George, and Percy who had been in the common room; they all walked down to the feast together.

That night, when the five remaining Gryffindor first years went to bed around eleven, the twins thought that it had been the best Christmas of their lives, no contest. Loch and Jack were curled up at the top of their four-posters, and Millie was already asleep when they finished putting their nightgowns on.

Matilda suddenly remembered the other gift that they had forgotten after Charity's letter. The girls sat on Tabitha's bed and carefully unwrapped it.

A shimmering cloak, light as air, slithered out. On top of it was a card:

_Your father left this in my possession when he died. It is time it was returned to you two._

_Use it well._

_A very merry Christmas to you._

"What do you think it is?" Matilda asked.

"I dunno," said Tabitha, standing and pulling it on. Matilda gasped.

"Tabitha, you're invisible!" she cried.

"What're you–" Tabitha turned to the mirror and almost screamed. Her body was gone completely except for her head.

"It must be an invisibility cloak!" said Matilda excitedly.

"But who would send us an invisibility cloak?" wondered Tabitha, flipping the card over. Nothing.

"That's a good question," Matilda agreed.

Two days later, the twins had a plan. They were going to use their new Cloak to sneak into the Restricted Section that night, and look for more books on Nicholas Flamel. They had told their friends about the cloak, but not that they were planning to use it to sneak out.

That night, they took only the Cloak, a lantern, and their wands, just in case. The Cloak covered the two of them easily, and they didn't have any problems on the way to the library.

Once there, they carefully opened the gate to the Restricted Section and carefully walked in. They went to the F's, searching…searching…

"Here, let's try this one," said Matilda. They looked around, then quickly pulled off the cloak. Matilda pulled the book off the shelf, and let it fall open.

A loud scream erupted from nowhere; the book was screaming. She quickly slammed it shut, but the howling went on.

"Let's get out of here!" cried Tabitha, yanking the Cloak off the table. Their lamp fell off and shattered just as the door to the library opened and Filch stepped in with Mrs. Norris.

"Who is it?" he demanded gruffly. "Show yourself! You can't hide…"

The girls threw the Cloak over themselves, carefully walking around Filch and out the door, where they nearly ran into Professor Snape.

Stepping quickly aside and holding their breath, the girls prayed he wouldn't hear them. Fortunately, he seemed far more occupied with the screeching book and the murmurs of Filch: "Still hot…must be near…"

They didn't hesitate, but ran quickly down the corridor, stopping halfway down to listen.

"That's right, Professor. I heard the book scream, but by the time I got there, there was nothing but this lantern. Still warm…means they're close." They heard Filch say.

"Then we'd better hurry." Snape replied eagerly, hoping to find a Gryffindor to punish.

Then there were footsteps. Snape and Filch were headed right for them.

The twins looked at each other in horror; the corridor was narrow, there was no way the two staff members wouldn't run into them. Matilda pointed down the hall – there was a door slightly ajar. Quickly, they continued down the corridor to it and squeezed inside. They listened until Snape and Filch were long gone, then took off the Cloak.

"That was _way _too close!" gasped Matilda, looking around the old classroom they were in. Dozens of desks were piled against one wall, but what dominated the room – looking so out of place that it must have been put there to keep it out of the way – was a large, ornate mirror.

"Wow, look at that!" whispered Tabitha, walking slowly towards it, her twin following. On top of the mirror was an inscription: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

They stepped in front of the mirror together and gasped.

Behind them were at least twelve people of all different ages, all smiling and waving at them.

Whirling around, the girls scanned the room behind them. There was no one there.

"Who–?" whispered Matilda, reaching forward to brush the glass with her fingertips.

Tabitha stared at the inscription over the mirror. After a second, she gasped, _"I show not your face but your heart's desire!"_

"What?" asked the other twin, momentarily distracted from the mirror.

"If you read the inscription backwards, it says 'I show not your face but your heart's desire!" she said.

Matilda read through it quickly. "You're right!"

"Your heart's desire…" mused Tabitha, "Then…then they must be–!"

"–Our family!" gasped Matilda, in realization.

They crept closer to the mirror, and when Tabitha whispered, "Mum?" a pretty red haired woman with their eyes in the front nodded.

"Dad?" whispered Matilda. A man with round glasses and messy black hair smiled.

Between their parents was a small boy who looked just like their father, but with their mother's eyes just like the girls had. He looked to be around nine or ten, and for the life of them, the twins couldn't imagine who he was. They guessed at who the others were, however: an older red-haired woman who looked like their mum they assumed was their maternal grandmother, and the man next to her had Aunt Petunia's horse face but looked a lot kinder; he must be their maternal grandfather. Behind their father was a man with salt-and-pepper hair who had James's eyes, and a blond woman next to him wore glasses.

Scattered among the remaining relatives were feature the girls' recognized: their ears, their eyes shape, and their noses.

The two of them sat for hours in front of the mirror, guessing at names and relations. The only thing they could be sure of was that their mother's mother was likely named Violet, as it was Matilda's middle name. They thought they had heard aunt Petunia mention that name before. In the background of the group, they noticed four people who didn't seem to belong, or at least didn't seem to be related to the others, but all looked to be the same age as their parents: a tall, good-looking man with long black hair; next to him another man with short light brown, slightly gray hair and a lined face On their other side was a thin woman with short, spiky brown hair and a pinched-faced man with light brown hair and a wide smile. They couldn't imagine who these three were, but they smiled and waved like the others.

That morning, Millie woke the twins up for lunch, saying she couldn't get them to wake up for breakfast and wondering why they seemed so tired. After their meal, they told everyone about the mirror.

"You snuck out?" gasped Ron, "Why didn't you take us with you?"

"You heart's desire…" mused Millie. "I want to see it." She declared.

"Me too." Agreed Aaric. The others nodded, and the girls were eventually convinced to take them, provided that Millie bring her Invisibility Cloak, which were made of Demiguise hair and had been in the family for years. Most invisibility cloaks didn't really make you invisible; at the right angle or in the right light, you could be spotted. However, the twins' cloak didn't seem to work that way.. The two agreed, and the children decided to leave at midnight.

That night, the five Gryffindors snuck out – the twins under their cloak with Aaric, and Ron and Millie under hers.

It didn't take them long to find the room again, and Millie stood in front of the mirror first. She said she saw herself becoming a fixture in professional Quidditch and using her fame to help end all the Pureblood-Mania. Aaric went after the Millie, and blushed terribly, then refused to tell them what he saw. After Aaric was Ron, who said he was Head Boy and Quidditch captain, and he had won the House Cup.

They stayed there nearly the whole night, as they could sleep the whole next day if they wanted to, taking turns to look in the mirror until everyone except for the twins fell asleep around two.

While Matilda used her newly discovered people–drawing abilities to draw a picture of all their family members so they could remember them, Tabitha looked at their friends. Millie and Aaric were laying side by side, their heads on Millie's Cloak, and Ron was propped up in a corner, head lolling and drooling slightly in his sleep.

After Matilda was done drawing, Tabitha carefully and artfully colored the picture, and by four, they woke the others one by one and they all trudged sleepily to bed.


	12. The Noble Estate

**Chapter 12: The Noble Estate **

Finally, it was the day for the post-Christmas party, as everyone was calling it. The three Gryffindor girls all curled their hair for the occasion, Millie borrowing some of the twins magic hair stuff to tame hers slightly. Lefty and Jack had had a fit when they found out they were supposed to be left behind, and both of them squeaked and squealed until the twins agreed to take them.

Finally, Matilda was wearing her gold robes and matching jewelry, and Tabitha was wearing the same, except in silver. They weren't at all used to wearing fancy clothing like this, and it was a new experience for the twins.

The five First-Years and Fred and George, who had also received invitations, Flooed to the Noble Estate where they were greeted by Thalia Noble herself, dressed in pure white dress robes that match her hair, which was tied up in a bun. She showed them the den, the dinning room with a large table set for at least fifty, and the flower room – a room usually used for brunch or breakfast, but would be where the children would be eating. Mrs. Noble carried herself with a sort of haunted dignity that seemed to fit what they saw on their way to meet the others.

As she led Tabitha, Matilda, Aaric, Millie, and Ron up the stairs to the large former playroom where all the other children were, the children saw that she was missing something:

The tips of her fingers.

They gasped, but tried to hide it and not stare, knowing it was rude. Mrs. Noble noticed, however, and quickly explained.

"Oh, didn't Euterpe tell you?" she asked cheerfully. They shook their heads. "When I was around thirty, a wizard named Hans Belsen asked me to help him with an experiment of his. I agreed, having no idea it would be like this…" she rolled up her left sleeve, and they all gasped again. Her hand and arm up to the elbow was twisted and burned as if by acid. "I was one of the lucky ones. When I didn't come home, my daughter notified the Ministry, and they sent Aurors to arrest Belsen and set us free. He's in a German wizard's prison now." She finished calmly.

The kids didn't know what to say, but luckily she opened the door to the playroom moments later, and they were tackled by Euterpe and Hermione. Neville, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Luna, Morrissey Evers, Mandy Brocklehurst, Morag MacDougal, Lee Jordan, and several other children were already there as well. Once everyone showed up a few minutes later, they were introduced.

A seven year old girl with blond hair was Aaric's younger sister Natalie. Two very petite eleven year olds were introduced as Morrissey's younger twin siblings, Rafferty and Raleigh.

Wendy, Rainie, and Sunny Jordan were Lee Jordan's younger siblings. Wendy and Sunny, the two girls, had long curly brown hair and looked exactly alike, even though Wendy was ten and Sunny was seven, while Rainie, six, had darker hair cut shorter, and looked a lot like his brother.

Bernard Lysander Dunstan, who was the same age as Ginny and Luna, who had also been invited, and preferred to go by his middle name, had long-ish black hair and very dark eyes, and was quiet a comedian. Dubhlainn (Duv–Lin) Moon was an Irish boy with wavy orange hair, green eyes, and tons of freckles. He and Lysander were close friends already, because although Dubhlainn was Muggle-born, Lysander's mother had recognized from the strange things he did that he was most likely a wizard, and when she found out that he was, they thought they'd bring him along to meet some friends. Last but not least, was Sammy Capper, a very cute boy with curly cooper brown hair and black eyes who was about ten.

A few minutes later, Faith, Bethany, Kirsten, and Laurel arrived as well, and were introduced too. The triplets made very good friends with Rafferty, Raleigh, and Sammy, and Faith and Luna were almost immediately best friends with Wendy.

Dinner that night was very good, and the Noble house elves were – unlike other house elves the girls had heard of – very clean and well taken care of. Euterpe told the others that her grandmother took in house elves that had been given clothes, and always offered to pay them, but most refused, so Thalia settled on giving them nice Christmas presents and comfortable clothes instead.

Soon they returned to Hogwarts, and a few days later, Tabitha and Matilda borrowed Millie's Cloak to take Euterpe, Hermione, and Neville (who had all come back to Hogwarts early) to see the mirror. As most kids still weren't home from Christmas break, the nine of them went during the day, but under the Cloaks so no one could see them.

The room was easier to find this time, but Hermione and Neville would not say what they saw in the mirror. Even Euterpe was vague about it, saying she saw herself making a difference, but not how.

**[Author's Note: In case you were curious, when Hermione stepped in front of the mirror, she saw herself, only matured and older, standing beside her friends and – especially – Ron, in defiance of…something (which is obviously supposed to be Voldemort, though she couldn't see him)**

**Neville sees himself leading the D.A, defying the Carrows and Snape (though he can't see their faces) and becoming stronger and (if I may say so) smoking hot.]**

That night, the twins went back alone, and simply sat in front of the mirror silently, looking.

"I see you two are back again," said a voice from the corner.

The girls jumped up, whirling around and pulling out their wands. They were stunned to see Professor Dumbledore, sitting casually on a desk. They quickly lowered their wands.

"It is natural to be curious," he continued, not sounding angry at all, "But you should exercise caution. I expect you know now what it does?"

"It shows you your heart's desire," answered Tabitha.

"That's right," said Dumbledore. "I see you deciphered the writing at the top." They nodded. "Well, I should tell you that people have gone mad, wasted away in front of that mirror. That is why, tomorrow, it shall be moved to another location, and I must ask that you not go and look for it." They nodded sadly.

"But how did you know we were here?" asked Matilda, not able to contain it.

He winked. "I don't need a cloak to become invisible." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Why don't you two go to bed now? It is getting late indeed…"


	13. The Quidditch Match Again

**Chapter 13: The Quidditch Match Again**

The next day, Tabitha and Matilda told the others what Dumbledore had said.

While they were sitting around the fire, reading and playing chess, the portrait opened and Neville hopped in. it was a wonder he'd made it up there at all; his legs were locked together with a Binding curse. Hermione quickly performed the counter curse, and it was a mark of the eight's friendship that they didn't laugh at the poor boy. Neville was slightly hysteric as he explained what Malfoy had done, going on about how he didn't belong in Gryffindor.

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy, Neville," said Tabitha firmly, handing him the last chocolate frog.

"Thanks, Tabitha," said Neville, smiling slightly. "Oh, look its Dumbledore," he said, passing the frog to her.

She gasped.

"That's where we saw the name!" she cried happily, showing the others. "Look: Dumbledore is best known for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald, his discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work in Alchemy with his partner Nicholas Flamel!"

"Alchemy…Stay here, I have to get something!" Hermione suddenly cried. The other seven barely had time to exchange looks before Hermione was back, carrying a large book.

"I can't believe I've been so stupid! I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading!" she said, flipping through the pages, of a very thick book.

"This is light?" asked Ron incredulously. Hermione glared at him.

"Here!" she said triumphantly. "'Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!'"

"The what?" chorused six voices.

"Honestly, don't any of you read?" snapped Euterpe. "The Sorcerer's Stone can turn any metal into gold, and produces the Elixir of Life, which make the drinker immortal."

"So Snape or Quirrell wants the stone to be immortal?" asked Neville.

"Who wouldn't want it?" countered Matilda. "Rich and you never die…sounds like a pretty good deal."

"If I was rich, I'd buy my own Quidditch team…" Ron mused dreamily.

"Oh!" cried Tabitha, remembering. "Snape's refereeing the match next week." She said.

"Don't play." Said Hermione at once.

"Pretend you're ill," advised Millie.

"Pretend to break your leg," suggested Neville.

"Really break your leg," said Ron.

"Get detention," Euterpe said.

"Say you're allergic to grease," Aaric offered.

"We can't," said Matilda, ignoring Aaric's comment on Snape's hair (which was hard; it was _funny_), "We'd be letting Wood down big time; he's really looking forward to the match."

"If anything funny starts to happen, just do what you did last time – Light someone on fire!" suggested Tabitha.

"Besides, if we don't the Slytherins will think we're scared to play because of Snape." Added Matilda, grimacing.

"We'll show them…it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win." Tabitha said.

"Just as long as we're not wiping you two off the field." said Aaric.

However, as the game drew near, the twins were more and more worried. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

Tabitha and Matilda didn't know whether they were imagining it or not, but they seemed to run into Snape everywhere they went. The library, going down to Hagrid's, on their way to class…Sometimes, they wondered if Snape was following them, trying to get them on their own. Really, he seemed a much more likely candidate than Quirrell to steal the Stone – he was so menacing and mean, and Quirrell was so nervous and kind.

Potions was terrible; Snape took off points for everything the twins – or anyone in Gryffindor, really – did, no matter how small. Matilda had lost them two points the other day for sneezing at the wrong time. They even sometimes got the feeling that Snape could _(gulp)_ read _minds_.

The twins knew, when their friends wished them good luck outside the locker rooms, that they were wondering if they'd ever see the girls alive again. This was hardly comforting, and the girls barely heard a word of Wood's pep talk as they changed into their scarlet and gold robes.

Up in the stands, Ron, Hermione, Euterpe, Aaric, and Neville took seats near Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender, all of whom could not understand why the others looked so grim, or why they had all brought their wands to the match. All of them had been practicing the leg locker curse, ready to use it on Snape if need be.

"Remember, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione hissed.

"We know," said Ron, grumpily. "Don't nag."

Inside the locker rooms, Wood took the twins aside.

"Tabitha, Matilda, if we ever needed an early Snitch capture, it's now," he said, "Finish this before Snape can favour Hufflepuff too much."

"The whole school is out there!" cried Fred, peering though the curtains. "Even – blimey – Dumbledore's come to watch!"

The twins' hearts did somersaults.

"_Dumbledore_?"they said as one, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred told the truth – there was no mistaking that silver beard.

They almost laughed out loud. They were safe! There was no way Snape – or Quirrell, for that matter – would try to hurt them if Dumbledore was watching.

Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as they stepped out onto the fields, something that Ron noticed too.

"I've never seen Snape look so mad," he said to the others. "I wonder if – Ouch!" something had poked him hard in the back of his head. The children turned around. It was Malfoy and Nott with their two body guards.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there," Malfoy grinned broadly at Nott. "I wonder how long they'll be able to stay on there brooms this time? Anyone want a bet? How about you, Noble? No? Longbottom?"

They ignored them. Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George hit a Bludger at his head. Hermione and Euterpe were both squinting at the twins, who were circling the game like a large hawk.

"You know how I think they choose the Gryffindor players?" Malfoy said loudly a few minutes later. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's the Potter's, who have no parents, the Weasleys, who have no money…you should be on the team Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville went bright red but turned to face Malfoy.

"I-I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.

Malfoy, Nott Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Aaric said, "You tell him, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold, you'd be poorer than the Weasleys, and that's saying something." Nott said.

Ron looked outraged, and opened his mouth to retort but Millie said, "I'm warning you, Nott, one more word…"

"Oh, I see, worried about your Mudblood girlfriend, are you? Maybe this time they'll fall all the way off."

Everyone snapped at once.

As the twins dived towards the snitch, Aaric and Millie both leapt over their chairs to tackled Malfoy and Nott onto the floor. The others hesitated, before Ron and Neville jumped over their seats to help.

"Come on, Tabitha!" Hermione cried, standing on her seat and ignoring the fight.

"You can do it, Matilda!" yelled Euterpe, jumping up next to Hermione. Neither of the girls paid attention to the four Slytherins and Gryffindors yelping and punching and rolling behind and under them.

Up in the air, Snape turned just in time to see a gold and scarlet blur shoot past him, missing him by inches. Matilda was holding up the snitch, both of them beaming,

The stands erupted. It had to be a record. No one could remember the snitch ever being caught so fast.

"Where are you guys?" Euterpe screamed. She, Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender were all hugging each other and jumping up and down.

"They caught the snitch! We won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" screamed Hermione.

Tabitha and Matilda jumped off their brooms a foot from the ground, hugging each other. Gryffindors were spilling out of the stands; Snape was nearby looking murderous. Then the girls felt a hand on their shoulders.

"Well done," said Dumbledore. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about the mirror…been keeping busy…excellent."

Then he disappeared into the crowd, and the two were attacked by Hermione, Ron, Aaric, Neville, and Millie, all of whom hugged them happily. When they stepped back, however the twins gasped.

Ron, Neville, Millie and Aaric all had bruises on their faces. Ron's eyebrow was bleeding, Millie had a black eye, and Neville's nose was bleeding a bit, as was Aaric's lip.

"What happened to you guys?" demanded Matilda.

"Slytherins." Millie said simply. Ron started to say more, but she gave him a Look.

On the way up to Gryffindor tower that night, Matilda and Tabitha overheard Snape threatening Quirrell again, this time mentioning the Sorcerer's Stone. It seemed like Snape was trying to find out how to get past Fluffy, but that there were also other things guarding the stone as well.

After hearing this, the girl hurried off to tell the others before Snape and Quirrell saw them.

"You mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" asked Ron when they were done.

"Looks like it." Matilda said.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday." He said gloomily.


	14. The Questionings

**Chapter 14: The Questionings**

Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they thought. In the weeks that followed, Quirrell did seem to be growing paler and thinner, but Snape was still as angry as ever, so he must not have cracked.

Every time one of the friends passed the third floor corridor, they would press their ears against it to make sure Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant the stone was still safe. Whenever Tabitha or Matilda passed Quirrell in the hallways, they would give him an encouraging smile. Ron and Aaric had started telling people off for making fun of his stutter.

Hermione, on the other hand had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and colour–coding all her notes. Euterpe, Tabitha, Matilda, and Neville joined her, but none were as…passionate, so to speak, about it as the brainy witch. Millie, Aaric, and Ron didn't really bother themselves with studying, preferring to do it last minute. Unfortunately for them, Hermione wouldn't allow that.

"Hermione, the exams are ages away," Ron moaned one morning.

"Three weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages. It's like a second to Nicholas Flamel."

"But we're not six hundred years old." Aaric reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for? You already know it all."

"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into Second Year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me…"

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on the first-years that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax, anyway, while reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements every waking moment.

"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and staring longingly out the library window. It was a perfect day outside.

Tabitha and Matilda, who were copying the definition of dittany from _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, _ignored Ron until he said, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Hagrid shuffled into view, holding something behind his back and looking very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," he said in a shifty tone that got all the children's attention at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" he said, suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' for Nicholas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," Ron said impressively. _"And _we know what the dog's guarding, it's the Sorcerer's St–"

"_Shhh!" _Hagrid looked around quickly to make sure no one was listening. "Don' go shouting about it, what's wrong with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Tabitha.

"About what else is guarding the stone apart from Fluffy–"

"SHHH!" Hagrid said again, cutting Matilda off. "Listen', come and see me later. I'm not promising to tell yeh anything, mind, but don't go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' supposed to know. They'll think I've told yeh…"

"See you later, then," Millie said, and Hagrid shuffled off.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" asked Aaric thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the stone?" wondered Hermione.

"I'll go see what section he was in," said Euterpe. She came back seconds later with piles of books, which she dumped on the table.

"_Dragons!" _she whispered, "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons!"

"Look at these!" Ron gasped, examining the pile, _"Dragon Species of England and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide!"_

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, everyone knows that!" said Aaric.

"But it's against our laws," Euterpe said, "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows _that."_

"Why?" Tabitha asked curiously.

"Well, it's hard to keep Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden," said Millie sarcastically.

"Anyway, dragons are impossible to train. You should see the burns Charlie had from the ones in Romania." Said Ron.

"But, there aren't wild dragons in _Britain__?" _Matilda asked.

"Of course there are." said Euterpe. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry has a job hushing it up, I can tell you. They have to keep putting spells on Muggles who have seen them to make them forget."

"So what on earth is Hagrid up to?" Hermione wondered.

When Tabitha, Matilda, Ron, Hermione, Millie, and Aaric went to Hagrid's later that day, they were surprised to see the curtains drawn tight. Hagrid called, "Who is it?" before letting them in and closing the door quickly behind them. Even thought it was a warm day, there was a fire in the fireplace and it was stiflingly hot.

"So – yeh wanted ter ask me somethin'?" he said, standing in front of the fireplace shiftily.

"Yes," said Tabitha. There was no point beating around the bush. "About what's guarding the stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at her.

"O' course I can't," he said, "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh already know too much, so I wouldn't tell you even if I did. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts – I suppose yeh've worked tha' out an all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us but you _do _know. You know everything that goes on round here," said Euterpe in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they all could tell he was smiling.

"We only wondered who had _done _the guarding, really," Hermione said, catching on.

"Yeah, I mean, who else Dumbledore would trust enough to help him, apart from you?" said Matilda.

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words, and they knew they had done it.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that…let's see…he borrowed Fluffy from me, but I don't know what the others did. All the teachers helped out, sort of like a magical obstacle course or summat."

"Even _Snape?" _gasped Matilda.

"What about _Quirrell?" _Tabitha said at the same time.

"Yeah – you're not still on abou' them are, yeh? Look, Snape and Quirrell are helping _protect _the stone, they're not abou' to steal it!"

The children knew they were all thinking the same thing. If Snape or Quirrell, who ever might be the one trying to steal it, were helping to protect it, it would be easier to find out what the other teachers were doing to protect it. Snape, for instance, seemed to know everything except Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.

"You're the only one who know how to get past Fluffy, right Hagrid?" Tabitha asked anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, right, not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except for me an' Dumbledore." Hagrid said proudly.

Everyone visibly relaxed at this.

"Hagrid, can we have a window open?" asked Euterpe. "I'm boiling."

"Can't, Euterpe, sorry," said Hagrid. They saw him glance at the fireplace, and followed his gaze.

"Hagrid, what's _that?" _

But Matilda already knew what it was. In the heart of the fire under the kettle was a huge black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's – er…"

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" asked Ron, crouching down next to the fire. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid proudly. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks at the Hogs Head an' I got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest…"

"But what are you going to do when it hatches?" Millie asked.

"Well I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling out a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library – _Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit _– it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Yeh've got ter keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mother breathes on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here – how ter recognize diff'rent eggs – what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione and Euterpe didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a _wooden house," _said Hermione.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming happily as he stroked the fire.

"Okay, before we decide what to do about the _dragon _Hagrid is now keeping as a pet, we need to talk to Charity." Said Tabitha as the nine of them made their way up to the castle.

"I wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life…" Ron said wistfully.

"Where is her classroom again?" Matilda asked Hermione, who had long ago memorized all the classrooms.

"It's in a corridor on the west side, near the Ravenclaw tower." She answered promptly.

It took them a while to get there, but at least they only got lost once.

Euterpe knocked, and Charity's voice said, "Come in!"

The nine of them entered.

The classroom was filled with tons of Muggle things like televisions and computers and phones, and Charity sat at a desk piled high with papers.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Potter Gang themselves!" Charity said, grinning. The twins rolled their eyes at the nickname. "What can I do for all of you?"

They paused, knowing this was a delicate situation to approach.

"Charity, we know about the Sorcerer's Stone," Matilda finally said.

Charity gasped, shooting up from the desk and over to them.

"You do? How in the world–"

"It's a long story," Millie said. "We just heard things, did some research, and pieced it together."

"But what we need to know, is, have you told anyone besides Dumbledore what you did for your part?" asked Matilda.

Charity looked confused. "Well, I did tell Professor Sinistra, as we're good friends, but besides that, only Dumbledore knows."

Everyone visibly relaxed at this.

"Why are you so curious, though?" Charity demanded.

"No reason…" hedged Euterpe, fiddling with a Muggle cord.

Charity crossed her arms and gave them all a Look.

Tabitha cracked first. "Well…we have reason to believe that someone might be trying to steal it…" she admitted. The others glared at her.

"Steal it? Who would do that?" demanded Charity, looking shocked. "Surely you don't think one of the _teachers…_"

The looks on their faces answered that question for her.

"Now look," she said carefully. "I know all the teachers here personally. None of them would try to steal the Stone, and it is perfectly safe from any outside forces."

"But we _know _someone wants it!" insisted Matilda. "We've heard them talking about it!"

At this, Charity looked like she might believe them.

"Who?" she asked.

"Well, actually we're not sure who exactly, but it's either Quirrell or Snape." Said Aaric.

Charity shook her head. "No, no. There is simply no way–"

"One of them was cursing Tabitha and Matilda at their first match, I saw them." Hermione said, cutting her off.

"And we've heard two conversations between them were Snape was threatening Quirrell for information about the Stone," said Tabitha.

Charity was completely in shock, her mouth hanging open, but Millie continued. "We saw Snape sneaking away on Halloween when he was supposed to be in the dungeons."

"And they're helping guard it, it would be easy to find out what the other teacher were doing." Said Euterpe.

Realization was starting to dawn on Charity's face.

"But they…Snape…the Stone…cursing…I just…"

White-faced, she plopped into a chair. After a few minutes, she finally raised her head.

"I think you may be right. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them both, and if they seem to be any more suspicious or if they ask anyone what they did to guard it, I'll talk to Dumbledore."


	15. The Hatching (Dragon, Part I)

**Chapter 15: The Hatching (Dragon, Part I)**

Though heightened slightly by the fact that _somebody _believed them, the work the children were being assigned by the teachers was still enough to make them want to jump off the astronomy tower.

One day during breakfast, Hedwig brought Tabitha and Matilda another note from Hagrid. It had only two words on it.

_It's hatching._

Ron, Aaric, and Millie were all for skipping Herbology and going straight to Hagrid's, but Hermione wouldn't hear of it.

"Hermione, how many times in out lives are we going to see a dragon hatch?" Millie said.

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing–"

"Shut up!" Matilda suddenly hissed.

Malfoy and Nott were only a few feet away, and had stopped dead in their tracks to listen. How much had they heard? Matilda didn't like the look on Malfoy's face.

Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology, and in the end, Hermione agreed to go to Hagrid's during morning break. When the bell sounded at the end of their lesson, Tabitha, Matilda, Hermione, Euterpe, Ron, Millie, and Neville picked up their stuff and hurried to Hagrid's.

He greeted them, looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out!" he said, ushering them inside.

The egg was laying on the table, covered in deep cracks. Something was moving inside; they could hear a funny clicking noise coming from it.

The nine of them drew up chairs and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Tabitha and Matilda thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella…or maybe Snape as a baby. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet black body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns stuck out of its head, and its eyes were large and orange.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't he _beautiful_?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!" said Hagrid.

"Hagrid," said Hermione. "How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from his face. He leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains – it's a kid, two of 'em! – they're runnin' back up ter the school."

Everyone bolted to their feet at once and looked out the door. Even at a distance they had no trouble spotting them.

Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott had seen the dragon.

Something about the smiles lurking on the faces of Malfoy and Nott made the twins and their friends very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

Today, Tabitha, Ron and Matilda took the 'Hagrid' shift while the others tried to study.

"Just let him go," Tabitha urged, "Se him free."

"I can't," Hagrid said. "He's too little. He'd die."

They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's mummy?"

"He's lost it," Ron murmured in Matilda's ear.

"Hagrid," Tabitha said loudly. "Give it two weeks, and Norbert will be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore any minute."

Hagrid bit his lip.

"I – I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

Matilda suddenly turned to Ron.

"Charlie." She said.

"You're loosing it, too," said Ron, "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No," said Tabitha, catching on. "Your brother, Charlie, in Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him, then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"

And in the end, Hagrid agreed and Ron sent a letter to Charlie.

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Tabitha, Matilda, Neville, Aaric, Euterpe, Hermione, and Millie sitting up in the common room. Hermione, Euterpe, and Tabitha were trying to re-focus their eyes as they attempted to study. Matilda was staring dazedly into the fire, not moving or blinking. Millie and Neville had fallen asleep, and Aaric was turning the pages in his book, pretending to study, though the book was upside down.

As the clock struck midnight, the portrait hole opened, and Ron appeared, pulling off the twins' invisibility cloak. He had been helping Hagrid feed Norbert, who was now eating rats by the crate.

"It bit me!" he cried, showing them a hand wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I won't be able to hold a quill for a week! I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you think it was a fluffy little rabbit. When it bit me, he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby!"

Then there was a tap on the window.

"It's Hedwig!" cried Matilda, causing Millie and Neville to jerk awake. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"

Ron read it aloud.

"_Dear Ron,_

_How are you? Thanks for the letter – I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon._

_Can you get the Ridgeback up to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark._

_Send an answer as soon as possible._

_Love,_

_Charlie"_

They looked at one another.

"We've got three Invisibility Cloaks between us," said Tabitha, remembering that Aaric had one as well (they had never used it; it was very old and didn't work very well). "It shouldn't be too difficult – I think our cloak is big enough to cover two of us and Norbert, and a few can go along as back up."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that everyone agreed. Anything to get rid of Norbert – and Malfoy.


	16. The Escape (Dragon, Part II)

**Chapter 16: The Escape (Dragon, Part II)**

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know if it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey – would she recognize a dragon bite? But by the afternoon, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green; it looked like Norbert's fangs were poisonous.

The other seven rushed to the hospital wing that afternoon to find Ron in a terrible state.

"It's not just my hand," he told them, "although it feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me – I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me – I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

They tried to calm Ron down.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," Hermione said, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no – oh no – I've just remembered – Charlie's letter was in the book Malfoy took, he's going to know when we're getting rid of Norbert!"

The others didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over and ushered them away, saying Ron needed sleep.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Tabitha told the others. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl."

"And this may be our only chance of getting rid of Norbert." Millie agreed.

"_And _we've got the Invisibility Cloaks, Malfoy doesn't know about that." Euterpe added.

After a while, it was decided that Millie and Aaric would take Aaric's cloak and Norbert, as they were both the strongest. Matilda, and Tabitha would go under the twins' slightly larger cloak, which left Euterpe, Neville and Hermione under the last. If the crate carrying Norbert somehow broke, or if Norbert struggled too much, they would need all the help they could take. They had decided that if it looked like Aaric's cloak wouldn't hide them well enough, the twins and Millie and Aaric would switch.

They would have felt sorry for Hagrid, when the time came to take Norbert, if they hadn't been so worried about what they were about to do. It was a dark, cloudy night, and they were late meeting him because they had to wait for Peeves to get out of the way from where he had been playing tennis against the wall.

Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"He got lots o' rats and some brandy for the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

There was a ripping sound from the crate.

"Bye-bye Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed as Aaric and Millie covered themselves and the crate with the Cloak. "Mummy will never forget you!"

How all seven of them managed to get up all the staircases and through the corridors was anyone's guess, with Aaric and Millie struggling with the crate, and the others running into each other because they were all invisible.

Then a sudden movement made them all stop dead in their tracks. Forgetting they were invisible, Tabitha and Matilda shrank into the shadows, watching the outlines of three people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy and Nott both by their ears.

"Detention!" she shouted, "And forty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the nigh, how _dare _–"

"You don't understand, Professor," Malfoy cried. "Tabitha and Matilda Potter are coming, they have a dragon!"

"It's true!" echoed Nott.

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come – we will see Professor Snape about this right now."

The steep spiral staircase seemed the easiest thing in the world after that.

As they stepped out into the cool night air, three Invisibility Cloaks came off. Everyone was beaming, and Hermione did a sort of jig.

"They both got detention! I could sing!" she cried.

A few minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping out of the air.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed everyone the harness they rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped to buckle Norbert in, and then the kids shook their hands and thanked them very, _very _much.

At last Norbert was going…going…_gone._

Soon they were descending the grand staircase carefully, thinking longingly of seeing Malfoy's face in the morning, when suddenly, Mrs. Norris appeared.

Everyone froze. Did the Cloak work on cats?

But then it happened.

Neville had been inching backwards, to the next section of the staircase, when he slipped and fell down them, dragging Hermione and Euterpe with him. They rolled, and the previous silence was broken by yelps of pain and loud thuds. Neville ended up elbow-deep in the trick step he always forgot to jump.

"Oh, no!" cried Tabitha. Mrs. Norris was sprinting away, no doubt to go find Filch.

The other six quickly ran down the stairs, yanking off their Cloaks and trying to pull Neville out. Then:

"They must be close, my sweet…"

Everyone went pale, but, thinking fast, Millie grabbed the Cloak and threw it over Hermione, Neville, and Euterpe, and was just about to hand Matilda and Tabitha theirs, after pulling her own over herself and Aaric, when…

"Oh dear, we are in trouble…" Filch murmured to the two of them, grinning with his yellow teeth.

Things could, however, have been much, much worse.

Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover–up stories chased themselves through both heads, each more feeble than the last. The twins were cornered. There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night. Add Norbert and the Cloaks, and they might as well be packing their bags now. At least, they thought, their friends managed to hide in time.

To make matters worse, when Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Terry Boot and Michael Corner.

"Tabitha, Matilda!" cried Terry the second they saw the other two. "We were trying to find you to warn you…" he stopped at the look on McGonagall's face.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It is one o'clock in the morning. _Explain yourselves."_

Neither of them spoke. The twins had never felt so terrible in their lives.

"I think I have a good idea of what's going on here," Professor McGonagall said. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Mr. Nott and Mr. Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed after hours, then had Mr. Corner and Mr. Boot keep a look out for you, hoping they would get caught first and you wouldn't have to take the blame, is that right?"

Tabitha opened her mouth to tell her that of course it wasn't right, but Professor McGonagall continued.

"I'm disgusted. Six students out of bed in one night! I thought you two had more sense than to believe whatever you're told," she said to Michael and Terry. "And you Miss Potter and Miss Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you. All four of you will receive detention, and seventy-five points will be taken from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."

"_Seventy-five?" _gasped Tabitha and Matilda. They would loose the lead – the lead they had won in the Quidditch match.

"Seventy-five points _each," _she said, breathing heavily through her long pointed nose. "And I will also be writing to your families."

This didn't bother the twins, as the Dursleys would hardly care, but Michael looked sad and worried. Terry had turned paper white, and looked as if he might throw up. The girls had no idea what would cause that reaction – it was just a letter, after all – but they had no time to discuss that. McGonagall escorted them straight to their houses, and Hermione, Neville, Euterpe, Millie, and Aaric were waiting for them.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

They told them the story of Terry and Michael being caught, all the points lost, the letters…

What the twins couldn't figure out was how in the world Terry and Michael found out about all of this.

At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglass that recorded the House Points thought there must be a mistake. How did they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points less than yesterday? And then it spread. Tabitha and Matilda Potter, the heroes of their last to Quidditch matches, the girls who lived, had lost them all those points. Ravenclaw was also upset with them, and with Terry and Michael as well.

Everywhere the girls went, people pointed at them and didn't bother to lower their voices when they insulted them. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped them on the back, while saying things like, "Thanks, Potter, we owe you one!"

Only their friends and a few acquaintances (such as Morrissey, Morag, and Mandy in Ravenclaw) in the other houses stood by them.

"They'll forget all this in a few weeks," Ron assured them. "Fred and George have lost tons of points the whole time they've been here, and no one hates them!"

"But they've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, have they?" asked Tabitha miserably.

"Well – no." Ron admitted.

It was too late to get the points back now, but Matilda and Tabitha swore to themselves to stop meddling in things that weren't their business. They'd had it with sneaking around and spying. They felt so ashamed of themselves that they even went to Wood and offered to resign from the team.

"_Resign_?"Wood thundered. "What good will that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"

But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The team, except for Fred and George, wouldn't speak to either of them and if they had to talk about them, they'd say, "the Seekers".

Terry and Michael were having trouble too. It wasn't as bad for them, because most Ravenclaws were to busy studying for the end-of-year exams to care about loosing points, but still, they tried not to draw attention to themselves nevertheless.

The boys had told Tabitha and Matilda one day after History of Magic that they had been coming back from the library on That Night when they heard Malfoy and Nott talking, and went searching for the twins to warn them. Though Tabitha and Matilda were grateful (and a bit embarrassed, because they both had slight crushes on the boys) for the consideration, they wished Terry and Michael hadn't done it, simply because of all they had to suffer now.

The twins were almost glad exams weren't far away, as the studying kept their minds off things. Tabitha, Matilda, Hermione, Euterpe, Ron, Aaric, Millie, and Neville kept to themselves, working late into the night to remember complicated potions, learn charms and spells by ear, and memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions.

Then, about a week from when exams were set to start, the twins' resolution not to meddle was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library alone one afternoon, they heard someone whimpering in a classroom up ahead. As they got closer, they heard Quirrell's voice.

"No – no – not again – please–!"

It sounded like someone was threatening him. Tabitha and Matilda moved forward.

"All right – all right–" they heard Quirrell sob.

The next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom, straightening his turban. He was pale and looked like he was about to cry. He hurried off, not even seeing the twins.

They looked at each other, then peered into the room. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. They were halfway towards it before they remembered what they'd promised about not meddling.

Tabitha and Matilda knew they were thinking the same thing. Snape had just gone through that door, and it seemed Quirrell had given in at last…

They nearly ran back to the common room, where Hermione was quizzing the others on astronomy. They told them what they'd heard.

"Snape's done it then!" Ron said, "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti– Dark Force spell–"

"There's still Fluffy," Euterpe reminded him.

"Maybe he found out how to get past him without Hagrid," suggested Millie, glancing at the large piles of books around them. "There's got to be a book somewhere that tells how to calm a three–headed dog."

"So what do we do?" Ron asked the twins excitedly, his eyes sparkling with an adventurous light.

Hermione answered before they could.

"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done in the first place. If we try anything ourselves, we're sure to get expelled."

"But we've got no _proof_!"Tabitha said.

"Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say that he doesn't have any idea how the troll got in and that he was nowhere near the third floor – who do you think they'll believe, him or us?" said Matilda.

"Yeah, it's not actually a secret that we hate him, Dumbledore will think we made it up to get him sacked."

"And don't forget we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Hermione, Euterpe, and Neville looked convinced, but Ron, Aaric, and Millie didn't.

"If we just do a bit of poking around–" began Aaric.

"We've done enough poking around." Said the twins firmly, each grabbing a book and starting to study.


	17. The Detention

**Chapter 17: The Detention**

The following morning, notes were delivered to Tabitha, Matilda, Terry, and Michael at their tables. They were all the same.

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall._

_– Professor M. McGonagall._

At eleven o'clock that night, they said goodbye to their fellow Gryffindor first-years and went down to the entrance hall, meeting Terry and Michael halfway. Filch was already there – as were Malfoy and Nott.

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

He lectured them as they walked, and complained about how it was a shame they had let the old punishments die. Tabitha and Matilda wondered what their punishments would be…it must be something horrible, they thought, or Filch wouldn't be so happy. Malfoy looked paler than usual, and Nott's cheeks were flushed red. The two Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were happy to see that they looked scared, even if they were as well. Tabitha, Matilda, Terry, and Michael kept close together for comfort as they walked through the darkness. The moon was bright, but the clouds kept moving across it, casting them into darkness. In the distance, they could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. They heard a shout.

"Is tha' you Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Tabitha and Matilda's hearts rose. If they were going to be working with Hagrid, it wouldn't be so bad. Their relief must have shown on their faces, however, because Filch snapped, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourselves with that oaf, eh? Well think again…it's into the forest you'll be going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Malfoy gasped. Michael let out a moan. Terry stopped dead in his tracks, and Nott yelped, "What?"

"The forest?" Malfoy repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night – there's all sorts of things in there – werewolves, I heard."

The girls clasped hands tightly, shivering a little, and saw Michael and Terry edge closer together.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Filch said, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got into trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid came striding into view through the dark, a crossbow in his arms, a quiver of arrows on his shoulder, and Fang at his heals.

"Abou' time," he said, "I've been waiting for half an hour. All right, you four?" he asked Tabitha, Matilda, Michael, and Terry.

"I shouldn't be too friendly with them, Hagrid," Filch said coldly. "They're here to be punished after all."

"That's why you're late, is it?" Hagrid said, frowning at Filch. "Been lecturing them, have you? 'S not your place to do that. Yeh've done your bit; I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," he said, "For what's left of them." he added nastily, and he turned away and strode back to the castle.

Nott turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going into that forest." He said, and they were glad to hear a note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong and now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do!" Malfoy said. "I thought we'd be copying lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd–"

"–tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts." Growled Hagrid. "Copying lines! What good is tha' ter anyone? Yeh'll do sommat useful or yeh'll get out. If you think you father would rather yeh be expelled, go back to the castle and pack. Go on!"

Neither of the Slytherins moved.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "Now listen careful like, 'cause it's dangerous what we're doing here tonight an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a minute."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a long winding earth path that disappeared into the thick trees.

"Look there," Said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt bad by sommat. This is the second time in a week, I found one dead last Wednesday. We're going to try and find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" asked Nott, unable to keep the quiver out of his voice.

"There's nothin' in tha' forest that'll hurt you if yer with me or Fang," Hagrid said. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're going to split inter two parties an' follow the trail in different directions. There's blood in all different directions; it must have been stagerin' around since las' night at least."

"I want Fang." Malfoy said immediately, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I'll warn yeh, he's a coward." Said Hagrid. "So me, Tabitha, Matilda, and Theodore will go this way, an' Terry, Michael, and Draco will go that way with Fang. Now, if any o' of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now – that's it – an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks an' we'll all come find yeh – so be careful – let's go."

The forest was dark and silent. A little ways into the woods, there was a fork, and Terry, Michael, Malfoy, and Fang went down the right, while the twins, Hagrid, and Nott went the other.

They walked in silence, eyes on the ground. Tabitha's and Matilda's hands were still clasped together almost subconsciously. They were shivering from fright, but determined to try and help the unicorn, and not just because it was their punishment. They knew from their reading that unicorns were pure and kind creatures, and never hurt a soul. They wanted to help the one that was hurt. Every now and then, they would catch a glimpse of silvery blood on the ground. Hagrid looked worried, and the twins were sad, thinking that no creature could bleed this much and survive.

"_Could _a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" asked Tabitha nervously.

"Naw, not fast enough," Hagrid said. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn – they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."

They walked past a mossy tree stump. They could hear running water – there must be a stream nearby. Spots of unicorn blood dotted here and there along the forest floor and the bushes.

"You two all right?" Hagrid said to the twins. "Don' worry – It can't've gotten to far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter help – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

He seized Tabitha and Matilda in one hand and Nott in the other and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and notched it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them listened…something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground, or perhaps a snake. Nott whimpered. The twins would have comforted him if he hadn't been so horrible to them in the past. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

"I knew it," Hagrid murmured. "There's sommat in here tha' shouldn't be."

"A werewolf?" Matilda suggested.

"Tha' wasn't no werewolf, and it wasn't no unicorn neither," Hagrid said grimly. "Right, follow me, but be careful now."

After a moment, something moved in a clearing ahead, but it only turned out to be a centaur – a half man, half horse – named Ronan. Hagrid introduced them and asked if he had seen anything suspicious in the forest. Ronan simply commented on the brightness of Mars. A few minutes later, another centaur, Bane, appeared. Hagrid also asked him about the unicorn, but he also only commented on the brightness of Mars.

"Never," said Hagrid irritably to the children once the centaurs had left. "Try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anything closer'n the moon."

"Are there many of them in here?" asked Tabitha.

"Oh, a fair few…keep themselves to themselves mostly, but their good enough abou' turnin' up if I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs…they know things…jus' don' let on much."

They walked on through the dark, dense trees. The three first-years kept looking nervously over their shoulders. The twins had a nasty feeling they were being watched. As they passed a bend, Matilda grabbed Hagrid's arm.

"Look, red sparks! The others are in trouble!" she cried.

"You three wait here!" he shouted, "Stay on the path! I'll come back fer yeh!"

They heard him crashing away through the underbrush and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.

"You don't think they were hurt, do you?" asked Matilda nervously.

"I don't care about Malfoy," Tabitha commented half-truthfully. She didn't want the boy to _die_, of course, but if he was hurt, she likely wouldn't shed a tear over him. "But if something happened to Mike or Terry…"

They both shivered. Nott was sitting on a tree stump looking green.

The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed to pick up every snapped twig, every rustled leaf. What was going on? Where were the others?

At last, a great crunching noise announced their return, and Hagrid, Fang, Mike, Terry, and Malfoy stepped into view. Hagrid was fuming. Malfoy, it seemed, had snuck up behind Terry and grabbed him as a joke. Terry had panicked and shot up sparks, and Mike had tackled Malfoy, giving him a split lip. The girls tried not to smile.

"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you three were makin'. Right, we're changing groups. Terry 'n Mike will stay with me and Theodore. Tabitha, Matilda, you go with Fang and this idiot. I'm sorry," he added in a whisper to the girls. "But he'll have a harder time provoking you two, an' we've got ter get this done."

So Tabitha and Matilda set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. The twins thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There was some splashed on the roots of a tree, as thought the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. They could see a clearing ahead through the tangled branches of an old oak.

"Look–" Tabitha murmured, putting out her hand to stop Matilda and Malfoy.

Something large and bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer…

It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. The girls hand never seen anything so beautiful and sad; its long slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves. Both girls had taken a step closer to it when a slithering sound made them freeze where they stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered…Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like a stalking beast. Tabitha, Matilda, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over its side, and began to drink its blood.

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted – and so did Fang. The hooded figure raised its head, looking right at the girls – unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and moved swiftly towards the two girls, who couldn't move from fear.

Then, a pain like they'd never felt before shot through two lightning–bolt scars, as if they were on fire. Half-blind, they staggered backwards. Tabitha tripped over a root and Matilda landed on her. They heard hooves, something galloping, and then something jumped right over them charging at the figure. The pain in their heads was so bad it took a minute or two to pass. When they looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over them; not Ronan or Bane, this centaur had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

"Are you all right?" he asked, pulling Tabitha and Matilda to their feet.

"Yes – thank you…what _was _that?" asked Tabitha, wiping her eyes.

The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishing blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at them both, his eyes coming to rest on the matching scars on their foreheads, the scars that made them perfect mirror-images of each other.

"You are the Potter girls." He said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time – especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way. My name is Firenze. It in the centaur tongue means 'friend'." He added as he lowered himself onto his front legs so Matilda and Tabitha could climb onto his back.

"Thanks for saving us!" the girls both said, and Firenze said, "You're very welcome," warmly.

There was suddenly the sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came charging into view.

"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have two humans on you back! Are you but a common mule?"

"Do you realize who they are?" said Firenze, "They are the Potter girls. The sooner they leave this forest, the better."

"What have you been telling them?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"

Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best." He said in his gloomy voice.

Bane kicked his back legs in anger. The twins were starting to wish they had run with Malfoy and Fang.

"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"

Firenze suddenly reared up on his hind legs in anger, so Tabitha had to grab his shoulders and Matilda the back of her robes to hold on.

"Do you not see that unicorn?" he bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside if I must."

And Firenze whirled around with the girls clinging as hard as they could, and plunged into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind.

Neither of them had a clue what was going on.

"Why is Bane so angry?" asked Tabitha.

"And what was that thing you saved us from, anyway?" added Matilda.

Firenze slowed to a walk, warned the girls to keep their heads bowed in case of low hanging branches, but didn't answer their questions. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that the twins decided that Firenze must not want to talk to them anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.

"Tabitha and Matilda Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No," said Tabitha, both of them startled by the unusual question. "We've only used the tail hair and horn in potions."

"And we know that the tail hair is used in wand cores, but the horns and hair have to be given willingly by the unicorn."

"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn." Firenze said. "Only one who has nothing to loose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

"But who would be that desperate?" Matilda wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death is better, isn't it?"

"It is," Firenze agreed. "Unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else – something that will bring you back to full strength and power – something that will mean you can never die. Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course – the Elixir of Life!" cried Tabitha.

"But I don't understand who–"

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return back to power, who has clung to life by the threads, awaiting their chance?"

Both of them froze, not even able to breath.

_"None of the teachers believe it..."_

_"Dumbledore says he'll be back…"_

_"…Only a matter of time…"_

_"…the Elixir of Life, which can make the drunker immortal."_

"…_Against danger, or even the person who made them…"_

"Do you mean," Tabitha started, voice cracking, "That that was _Vol_–"

"Tabitha! Matilda! There you are!"

"Are you alright?"

Michael was running along the path, Terry beside him and Hagrid puffing behind.

"We're fine." Assured Matilda, not even knowing what she was saying.

"The unicorn is in a clearing over there, Hagrid, it's dead." Said Tabitha dazedly.

"This is where I leave you," said Firenze as Hagrid went off to examine the unicorn. "You're safe now."

They slid off his back.

"Good luck, Tabitha and Matilda Potter. The planets have been read wrongly before, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

The other Gryffindor first years (besides Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender) had fallen asleep in the common room waiting for them to come back, but everyone woke up quickly when Tabitha and Matilda told them the story of what had happened in the forest.

They couldn't sit down. Both of them paced in front of the fire, still shaking from fear and anger.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort…" Matilda said.

"And Voldemort's waiting in the forest…" continued Tabitha.

"And all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich or live forever…"

"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as though Voldemort could hear them. Neville was shaking worse than the girls. Hermione and Euterpe were both gnawing on their lips, and Millie and Aaric were very pale.

The girls weren't listening.

"Firenze saved us, but he shouldn't have done so…"

"Bane was furious….he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen…" Tabitha rolled her eyes.

"They must show that Voldemort is coming back…"

"Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill us…" said Tabitha bitterly.

"I suppose that's written in the stars as well." snorted Matilda.

"_Will you stop saying the name_?"Ron hissed.

"Now all we've got to wait for is Snape to steal the stone."

"Then Voldemort will come and kill us."

"I suppose that'll make Bane happy."

Everyone looked terrified, but Hermione offered a word of comfort.

"Tabitha, Matilda, everyone says Dumbledore was the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, what the centaurs are talking about sounds like fortune-telling, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."


	18. The Realization

**Chapter 19: The Trap Door**

The rest of the afternoon, as they read and practiced various spells, Neville's smile was so big, it looked painful.

After dinner, the Gryffindor's sat in the common room alone, reading. No one bothered them – no one had anything to say to Tabitha and Matilda anyway, and for once it didn't bother them.

"Better get the cloak," said Ron as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning.

Tabitha and Matilda were under a cloak, as were Millie and Aaric, and Hermione and Euterpe. Neville and Ron were protected by Disillusion charms that would keep them perfectly invisible at night as long as they moved slowly. They didn't have any problems on the way up, though they did run into Peeves, but Millie got rid of him by pretending to be the Bloody Baron. Soon, they were outside the third-floor corridor, and the door was ajar.

"Well there you go," said Matilda. "Snape's already gotten past Fluffy."

Fluffy sniffed as they stepped into the room, even though he couldn't see them. There was a harp abandoned on the floor, obviously left by Snape.

Millie pulled out her banjo, which she had learned to play from her uncle when she was young, and began to play.

Immediately, Fluffy's eyes drooped, his heads went down, and he began to snore.

The others took off their Cloaks and charms, and crept towards the dog.

"I think we'll be able to pull it open," said Ron.

"I'll do it!" Millie announced bravely, stepping over Fluffy's legs and pulled the ring of the door, which swung open.

"What can you see?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Nothing – just black – there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

"We'll go first." The twins said at once.

"If something bad happens, don't follow. Go to the Owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore." Said Tabitha, rolling up her sleeves.

"But…i-if you both go, and something bad happens–" stuttered Neville.

The twins smiled.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we prefer to do things together."

And with that, they both leapt in.

Cold, damp air rushed past as they went down, down, down and –

FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump they landed on something soft. They sat up and felt around, their eyes not used to the gloom. It felt like they were sitting on a very large plant.

"It's okay!" Tabitha called to the square of light the size of a postage stamp. "It's a soft landing, some sort of plant!"

They all followed one by one. Ron, Aaric, Hermione, Euterpe, Millie, and lastly Neville.

"Lucky this plant thing is here, really," said Ron cheerfully.

"Lucky!" cried Hermione, "Look at us!"

She struggled to the wall, but couldn't move, because as soon as everyone landed, little green creepers had started to wrap themselves around them, and now they were all completely stuck besides Neville, who had landed last and managed to move to the wall. Everyone cried out and immediately started to struggle.

"I know what this is!" cried Neville, "It's Devil's Snare!"

"Well I'm so glad we know its name, that's a great help!" cried Ron as he tried to yank a vine off his neck.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Neville said. His voice was strong, taking on the undertone of a leader, and the others couldn't help but be impressed even as they were squished by vines.

"Well hurry, I can't breathe!" gasped Tabitha as a thick vine curled around her chest.

"Devil's Snare…Devil's Snare like the cold and damp…it hates sunlight…" Neville gasped and drew his wand.

"_Lumos Maxima_!"he cried.

In a matter of seconds, everyone felt the plant loosening its grip as is cowered away from the bright light shooting out of Neville's wand.

Everyone stared at him, and Neville blushed.

"That's…that's a third year spell, Neville." Said Euterpe weakly.

Neville blushed even redder. "I know…it just came to me."

Once everyone could move again, they started down a stone passageway.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the occasional drip of water. Strangely, it suddenly hit the twins that this time last year, they had had no friends apart from each other, and had lived in a cupboard. Now they had eight good friends, a couple of acquaintances, and were witches who were trying to save a Magic Stone from and Dark Lord. It was comical to the point of being almost ridiculous.

"What?" asked Aaric, confused, as the two girls had just burst out laughing.

"It's just…I mean, a few months ago, we lived in a _cupboard_,"gasped Matilda through laughter, leaning against a damp wall.

"And now, we have friends, and we're wizards who are trying to save the Sorcerer's Stone from an evil teacher so he can't resurrect a Dark Lord!" Tabitha said.

"We used to do all the cleaning and cooking and get locked in that tiny cupboard, remember, if we did anything wrong?" Matilda reminisced.

"Oh, and wear those broken glasses!" added Tabitha, "And get beat up by Dudley, and slapped, and never get to bathe!"

"And no food!" cried Matilda, now on the floor, holding her stomach and laughing. "Don't forget that!"

The others where staring at them like they'd never seen them before.

"Sorry," grinned Tabitha, standing up and pulling Matilda to her feet. "We know its not the right time, it's just that it sort of hit us–"

"It's not that." Said Neville softly.

The girls frowned.

"It's not?" they said.

"No." agreed Hermione.

"Why didn't you tell us?" demanded Ron.

"Yeah, how could you keep that a secret?" cried Euterpe, who was crying. "We're supposed to be your best friends!"

"But…what do you mean?" Matilda asked, completely lost.

"That you lived in a cupboard!" cried Neville.

"And had to cook and clean all the time!" Aaric said, looking very pale.

"And got beaten up!" added Millie.

"And didn't get any food!" Hermione said.

"We weren't trying to hide it!" said Tabitha. "We just didn't want it spread around, I mean, it's not like our Aunt and Uncle beat us or _completely _starved us…"

"But that's still a big deal!" cried Hermione.

"You have to tell Professor Dumbledore!" said Euterpe. "When we get back…if we get back, you have to tell him!"

"I'm sure he'd talk to them!" agreed Hermione. "At least about not feeding you and everything!"

The girls were stunned. Never before had someone cared about them, let alone this many people. But then they thought…Hagrid cared about them, and so did Charity…and perhaps even Professor McGonagall, in her own way. At least they would care if they lived or died, if they were healthy and reasonably happy, unlike the Dursleys.

"All right," said Matilda finally.

"We'll talk to Dumbledore, but first we have to get through this thing, and we're wasting time!" said Tabitha firmly.

Everyone looked appeased as they continued into the tunnel.

After awhile, Ron said, "Do you guys hear something?"

It was a soft, fluttering sound, like thousands of butterflies.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" asked Neville nervously.

"I don't know…sounds like wings to me." Millie said, straining to listen.

"There's an opening ahead…I can see light!" cried Euterpe.

When they reached the opening up ahead, there was a brilliantly lit chamber with a very high ceiling. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, all fluttering around. At the other end was a door.

"Do you think they'll attack if we try to get across?" asked Ron.

"Probably." Said Tabitha. "We'll have to risk it – we'll run."

They all took off, hands over their heads, expecting to feel sharp beaks and claws any second, but nothing happened. They reached the door unscratched, and Aaric pulled on it. It wouldn't budge.

They all tried. Hermione's Alohomora charm wouldn't work, and Millie even tried kicking it, but nothing happened.

Neville was staring at the birds, and suddenly cried, "They're not birds – they're keys!"

And they were; hundreds of tiny keys with wings attached to them.

"Look – brooms!" cried Euterpe. There were indeed five brooms stacked against one wall.

As Matilda, Tabitha, Euterpe, Ron, and Millie were the best fliers, they grabbed the brooms and kicked off.

"We're looking for an old one!" called Hermione. "Probably silver, like the handle!"

They swooped and dived, but the keys were fast.

After only a minute, Matilda spotted it.

"There!" she called to the others. "The big one with bright blue wings! Look, it has a bent wing!"

They managed to corner it, and Tabitha grabbed it just as Euterpe slipped off her broom, falling at least forty feet.

Everyone cried out in fear, but it was Neville who said, "I've got you!" and ran to catch her.

There was a thump.

Neville, being a little on the chubby side, had managed to break Euterpe's fall, and was now unconscious on the floor.

They checked him, but he only seemed to have been knocked out.

"Should we try to wake him?" asked Matilda nervously.

"No," said Hermione firmly. "It might not be good for his brain. He should be okay until we can take him to Madam Pomfrey though…"

The seven shared looks. They didn't want to leave Neville alone, but they had no choice. They didn't know who they would need in the next obstacles.

The next room was dark as they entered, but as soon as they stepped inside, the torches revealed an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. They shivered slightly – the white chessmen across the way had no faces.

"Now what?" asked Tabitha.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron said. "We've got to play our way across the room."

"How?" asked Hermione nervously.

"I think…" said Aaric slowly. "I think we're supposed to be chessmen."

Ron walked up to a black night and put his hand out to touch the hors. Immediately the figure sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his head to look down at Ron.

"Do we – er – do we have to join you to get across?"

The knight nodded. Ron turned to the others and immediately began instructing them to replace various pieces. When they were all situated, Ron said, "White always goes first, see?"

Sure enough, the pieces across the board were beginning to move. Ron began ordering the pieces around, and everyone listened to him. The first time one of the black pieces was taken, Hermione, Euterpe, and Matilda all screamed. The white pieces were merciless – they took nearly as many black pieces as Ron and Aaric (who was also quite good at chess) took white ones. Several times, Ron barely noticed that one of the others were in danger in time.

"We're nearly there," Ron said suddenly. "Let me think…hmm…"

Aaric looked at him. He didn't speak, but they seemed to share a chess-players-only message, because Ron sighed.

"Yes…it's the only way." He said with resignation. "I've got to be taken."

"NO!" the twins shouted.

"You can't, Ron!" cried Hermione.

"No way!" agreed Euterpe. Aaric simply looked grim.

"That's chess!" Ron snapped. "You've got to make sacrifices! After I make my move, the queen'll take me. Tabitha, that leaves you to check the king."

"But–" began Tabitha.

"Do you want to stop Snape from getting the Stone or not?" Ron demanded.

"Ron–" began Hermione, looking tearful.

"Look, if you guys don't hurry, he'll get the Stone!"

Ron was right, they knew. There was no way around it.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale yet determined. "Here I go – don't you hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the face with her stone arm. The other six screamed. Ron fell to the floor, looking to be unconscious, and the queen dragged him to the side.

Shaking, Tabitha moved to the spot Ron had indicated.

The white queen took off his crown and threw it at Tabitha's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With a last desperate look at Ron, Tabitha, Matilda, Hermione, Aaric, Millie, and Euterpe ran through the door and into the next passageway.

"What if he's–" started Hermione.

"He'll be fine." Said Tabitha, trying to convince herself.

"What do you think is next?" asked Aaric.

"Well, we had Sprout's – that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must have charmed the key, and McGonagall transfigured the chess pieces, that leaves Charity's, Quirrell's, Snape's, and Sinistra's." said Hermione.

The next room was by far the strangest.

It contained a pile of clothes, a Muggle washing machine, and a Muggle drier.

"What the–" began Millie, but a voice that seemed to come from the washing machine rang out.

"_If passage through is what you seek, you must step forward and conquer me." _It said, the lid moving as it spoke.

"You mean…we have to wash the clothes?" asked Euterpe incredulously.

"_Yes." _Answered the washer. _"I can let all of you go forward but one. One must stay until it is done, or the fate of the others will be most…unpleasant."_

"One," murmured Tabitha, silently cursing Charity. "Okay. Any volunteers?"

"Our Aunt and Uncle wouldn't let us near their clothes…they thought we'd ruin them." Matilda said.

"I know how to do it," offered Hermione. "I'll make sure it gets done." she continued, "This is the least dangerous task we've had to do so far."

So the others continued down the next passage.

They stopped at another heavy wood door.

"Okay…brace yourselves." Warned Matilda, and yanked it open.

Immediately, they were sucked into blackness. They tried to whirl around, but they were floating, and there was no around. It was completely black.

"What?" cried Euterpe.

"Where are we?" yelled Millie.

Suddenly, bright spots of light appeared around them, and a voice said, _"Find Betelgeuse." _

"Who was that?" demanded Aaric.

"What's a beetle juice?" said Matilda.

They could see each other now, just barely, by the lights of the little dots.

"I know!" Euterpe suddenly cried. "It's a solar system! Professor Sinistra! We have to find the stars!" she frowned for a second, then grinned and made swimming movements with her hands over a few feet. "Betelgeuse…here!" she said, touching it.

"_Correct." _Said the voice, _"Find Electra."_

"Taurus, near Taurus…" murmured Euterpe, swimming around in space as the others watched nervously. "Here! Electra!"

She poked it, and again the voice said, _"Correct. Find Hamal." _

And so it went on for about three more minutes. Euterpe found all the stars but one, and finally the voice said they could go, and the kids suddenly found themselves falling through the air, only to land in what looked like a classroom. Euterpe was missing, and they hoped it was because of the question she missed, and that she wouldn't be stuck in space forever…or worse.

"There can't be many left, can there?" asked Millie, panting slightly.

"I think – wait, do you smell that?" said Matilda.

They opened the door, and saw a troll. A fully grown troll, and he was mad.

They didn't have books, but the four of them ran through its legs, waving their arms and casting spells to confuse it until it caught Aaric in the head with its club. He fell to the floor, the third of the friends that night to be knocked out.

Spurred by anger, Tabitha, Matilda, and Millie managed to case stunning spells and knock it out.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" whispered Millie.

"Yeah," said Tabitha, bending over the blond-haired boy. "There's a lump on his head, but it's not big."

"We need to hurry." Said Matilda, grabbing the other two, and they stepped into the next room, hardly daring to look at what came next.

Inside was simply a table with seven different coloured and shaped bottles sitting on it.

"Snape's," said Tabitha. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, an immediately a fire sprang up behind them, and not just any fire, a purple one. The same second, black flames shot up in the doorway in front of them. They were trapped.

"Look!" Millie seized a paper lying in front of the bottles, and they all read.

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you will find._

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead._

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide,_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those that stand on either end,_

_But if you would move forward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different sizes,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant hold death on their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"This isn't magic – its logic. A puzzle!" gasped Millie. "A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?" Matilda said.

"No." said Tabitha firmly. "We can figure it out."

They re–read the list several times, discussing and arguing and almost gave up when they all paused. The twins and Millie exclaimed in unison, "I've got it!"

"The smallest bottle will get us to the Stone," said Matilda, grinning.

"And that round one will get us back." Tabitha smiled.

They looked at the tiny bottle. There was maybe enough for two people to sip. The other one was much larger.

"We can all drink it and get to the Stone…" said Millie slowly. "But I don't think we should?"

"What?!" exclaimed the twins.

"Let Snape get it?"

"Have you gone mad?"

"No, hold on," said Millie placating. "I just meant…I don't think we should all go. I think you two are meant to go forward alone. I'll go find the others."

The twins were about to protest, but they stopped themselves. Millie was right – they had to go alone.

"Okay," Matilda agreed. "You, Hermione, and Euterpe – if you can find her – can take the others on brooms back through the trap door."

"Send a letter to Dumbledore," Tabitha advised. "And get Madam Pomfrey."

"Right," said Millie shakily. She looked uncertain for a moment, then lunged forward and hugged them – first Matilda, then Tabitha.

"I love you guys." She said firmly. "You had better not die."

And with that she drank the potion and ran through the fire.

Matilda was slightly dazed.

"What do you think–?"

"Never mind that for now," said Tabitha. "Snape, remember?"

"Right!" Matilda agreed.

They both grabbed the bottle and took a sip each, then stepped through the black flames.

They gasped when they passed through them, because it wasn't Snape in the next room. It wasn't even Voldemort.

It was Quirrell.

"_You_!"they gasped.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me." He said calmly. "I was wondering when I'd be–"

But their momentary shock had worn off.

"Expeliarmus!" cried Tabitha, and Quirrell's wand flew out of his hand and into Matilda's. She snapped it.

"No!" roared Quirrell, "You insolent brats!" he moved towards them, but they raised their wands at him.

"Don't move." Said Matilda.

"We suspected you, at first, but Snape…"

"Ah yes, Severus." Quirrell chuckled, "He suspected me from the beginning. The Quidditch matches, the troll on Halloween…"

"That was you at the match!" cried Tabitha.

"We saw you, but we didn't think…"

"And the troll! Snape's leg! That's why he went to the third floor!"

"Yes, yes, yes," said Quirrell impatiently. "But it was all a waste, because now I'm going to kill you both tonight."

Before they could move, Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes appeared, tying the girls up, and their wands fell out of their hands.

He grinned as the twins struggled. "I'm so glad the Dark Lord got rid of the other one now…I can't imagine having to deal with three of you…"

They froze.

"What do you mean, the other one?" demanded Tabitha.

Quirrell laughed.

"Dumbledore hasn't told you? Pity…But I suppose people don't concern themselves too much with The Boy Who Died; much less exciting that The Girls Who Lived."

Both of the twins saw red.

"Now wait quietly. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that the twins realized what was standing behind him: it was the Mirror of Erised.

"The mirror is the key to finding the stone…" Quirrell murmured, "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this…but he's in London…I'll be far away by the time he gets back…"

The girls knew they had to distract Quirrell, so they kept him talking, mentioning how they had seen him and Snape in the forest. He murmured about how Snape suspected him, but he wasn't frightened since he had Voldemort on his side.

"I see the stone…I'm presenting it to my master…but where is it?" he murmured, looking eagerly into the mirror.

"But Snape always seemed to hate us so much," said Tabitha.

"Oh, he does, heavens, yes." Said Quirrell. "He was in the same year as your father. They loathed each other….but he didn't want you _dead. _In fact, he was good friends with your mother for awhile. Perhaps he has a soft spot…" Quirrell chuckled again. The girls tried to ignore this new piece of information, saving it to be considered later.

"But we heard you a few days ago – sobbing. We thought Snape was there with you." Said Matilda.

"Sometimes," Quirrell said, now pale and looking scared. "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions…he is a great wizard and I am weak…"

"You mean he was in the classroom with you?" gasped Matilda.

"He is with me wherever I go…." Said Quirrell, and went into an explanation of his shortcomings and how he had failed to rob Gringotts, resulting in his 'master' wanting to keep a closer eye on him.

The twins were feeling extremely stupid. They had seen Quirrell in the Leaky Cauldron that day! Had shaken hands with him!

"What does the mirror do?" Quirrell finally cried in exhaustion. "How does it work? Help me, master!"

And to Tabitha's and Matilda's horror, a voice answered, and it seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"The girls…use the girls…"

Quirrell rounded on the girls.

"Yes, come here!"

He clapped his hands, and the ropes around the two girls vanished, but their wands flew into his hand.

"Come here, both of you." They got to their feet and walked slowly over to the mirror. Quirrell stepped aside.

"Tell me what you see!"

They both knew that what they wanted more than anything was to find the stone before Quirrell. They simply had to lie.

They saw their reflections, pale and looking scared. After a second, however, Mirror Matilda smiled, put her hand in her pocket, and drew out a blood-red stone, which she handed to Mirror Tabitha, who took it, and put it in her pocket – at the same time, Tabitha felt something heavy drop into her pocket – _they'd gotten the stone!_

"Well?" demanded Quirrell, "What do you see?"

"Our family," answered Matilda, looking awestruck at the mirror. It was quite convincing, really. "All of them…our parents are there…"

Quirrell cursed and shoved them out of the way. Tabitha could feel the stone against her leg – dare they make a break for it?

They hadn't taken five steps when the voice said:

"They lie…they lie…"

"Come back here, Potters'!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me what you see!"

"Let me talk to them…face to face…"

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough…for this…"

Feeling like they were rooted by cement, the girl watched, terrified, as Quirrell reached up and slowly unwrapped his turban. What was going on? Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it…and the he turned.

They would have screamed, but they couldn't move a muscle. Where the back of Quirrell's head should have been, there was a face, chalk white with glowing red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Tabitha and Matilda Potter…" it whispered.

They tried to take a step back but their legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said, "Mere shadow and vapor…I have form only when I can share another's body…but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds…Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks…you saw faithful Quirrell drinking for me in the forest…and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own…Now…why don't you give me that stone in your pocket, Tabitha Potter?"

So he knew. The feelings suddenly surged back into their legs, and they stumbled backwards.

"Don't be fools," snarled the face. "Better to save your own lives and join me…or you'll meet the same end as your parents and brother…James and Lily died begging for mercy…"

"LIAR!" They both shouted suddenly, even though they still weren't sure they believe that they _had_ had a brother; no one had ever mentioned it!

Quirrell was walking backwards, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching…" it hissed. "I always value bravery…Yes, children, your parents were brave…I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight…but your mother needn't have died…she was trying to protect you…Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!" Tabitha cried.

They sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed, "SEIZE THEM!" and the next second, the girls felt a hand close on each of their wrists. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across their scars; their heads felt like they were going to split in two. They struggled with all their might, and to their surprise, Quirrell released them. The pain lessened – they looked around for Quirrell, and saw him hunched over in pain, looking at his fingers, which were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize them! SEIZE THEM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged again, knocking Matilda into Tabitha, and landing on them both, on hand around each of their necks. Though their scars were searing with pain again, they could see Quirrell howling in agony.

"Master, I cannot hold them – my hands – my hands!"

"Then kill them, fool, and be done!" screamed Voldemort.

Quirrell raised Tabitha's wand to perform the deadly curse, but the girls both reached up and grabbed his face –

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled of them, his face blistering too, and they knew: Quirrell couldn't touch them without being burned. Their only chance was to keep touching him, distract him from doing the curse.

"Now!"

Both girls jumped up and grabbed Quirrell's arms. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw them off – the pain in their lightning-bolt scars was building – they couldn't see – they could only hear Quirrell's terrible screams and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL THEM! KILL THEM!" and other voices, which they thought were probably in their heads, crying, "Tabitha! Matilda!"

They felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from their grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down…down…down…


	19. The Trap Door

**Thank you to everyone who favourited this story! I feel the need to say that the plot twist at the end of the chapter was not supposed to happen at all. It just did. It kind of...wrote itself.**

* * *

**_Chapter 19: The Trap Door_**

The rest of the afternoon, as they read and practiced various spells, Neville's smile was so big, it looked painful.

After dinner, the Gryffindors sat in the common room alone, reading. No one bothered them – no one had anything to say to Tabitha and Matilda anyway and for once it didn't bother them.

"Better get the cloaks," said Ron as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning.

Tabitha and Matilda were under a cloak, as were Millie and Aaric, and Hermione and Euterpe. Neville and Ron were protected by Disillusion charms that would keep them perfectly invisible at night as long as they moved slowly.

They didn't have any problems on the way up, though they did run into Peeves, but Millie got rid of him by pretending to be the Bloody Baron.

A few seconds later, they were outside the third-floor corridor, and the door was ajar.

"Well there you go," said Matilda. "Snape's already gotten past Fluffy."

Fluffy sniffed as they stepped into the room, even though he couldn't see them. There was a harp abandoned on the floor, obviously left by Snape.

Millie pulled out her banjo and began to play.

Immediately, Fluffy's eyes drooped, his heads went down, and he began to snore.

The others took off their Cloaks and charms, and crept towards the dog.

"I think we'll be able to pull it open," said Ron.

"I'll do it!" Millie announced bravely, stepping over Fluffy's legs and pulled the ring of the door, which swung open.

"What can you see?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Nothing – just black – there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

"We'll go first." The twins said at once.

"If something bad happens, don't follow. Go to the Owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore." Said Tabitha, rolling up her sleeves.

"But…if you both go, a-and something bad happens–" stuttered Neville.

The twins smiled.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we prefer to do things together."

And with that, they both leapt in.

Cold, damp air rushed past as they went down, down, down and –

FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump they landed on something soft. They sat up and felt around, their eyes not used to the gloom. It felt like they were sitting on a plant.

"It's okay!" Tabitha called to the square of light the size of a postage stamp. "It's a soft landing, some sort of plant!"

They all followed one by one. Ron, Aaric, Hermione, Euterpe, Millie, and lastly Neville.

"Lucky this plant thing is here, really," said Ron cheerfully.

"Lucky!" cried Hermione, "Look at us!"

She struggled to the wall, but couldn't move, because as soon as everyone landed, little green creepers had started to wrap themselves around them, and now they were all completely stuck besides Neville, who had landed last and managed to move to the wall. Everyone cried out and immediately started to struggle.

"I know what this is!" cried Neville, "It's Devil's Snare!"

"Well I'm so glad we know its name, that's a great help!" cried Ron as he tried to yank a vine off his neck.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Neville said.

"Well hurry, I can't breathe!" gasped Tabitha as a thick vine curled around her chest.

"Devil's Snare…Devil's Snare like the cold and damp…it hates sunlight…" Neville gasped and drew his wand.

"_Lumos Maxima_!"he cried.

In a matter of seconds, everyone felt the plant loosening its grip as is cowered away from the bright light shooting out of Neville's wand.

Everyone stared at him, and Neville blushed.

"That's…that's a third year spell, Neville." Said Euterpe weakly.

Neville blushed even redder. "I know…it just came to me."

Once everyone could move again, they started down a stone passageway.

All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the occasional drip of water. Strangely, it suddenly hit the twins that this time last year, they had had no friends apart from each other, and had lived in a cupboard. Now they had eight good friends and were witches who were trying to save a Magic Stone from and Dark Lord.

"What?" asked Aaric, confused, as the two girls had just burst out laughing.

"It's just…I mean, a few months ago, we lived in a _cupboard_,"gasped Matilda through laughter, leaning against a damp wall.

"And now, we have friends, and we're wizards who are trying to save the Sorcerer's Stone from an evil teacher so he can't resurrect a Dark Lord!" Tabitha said.

"We used to do all the cleaning and cooking and get locked in that tiny cupboard, remember, if we did anything wrong?" Matilda reminisced, wiping her eyes.

"Oh, and wear those broken glasses!" added Tabitha, "And get beaten up by Dudley, and never get to bathe!"

"And no food!" cried Matilda, now on the floor, holding her stomach and laughing. "Don't forget that!"

The others were staring at them like they'd never seen them before.

"Sorry," grinned Tabitha, standing up and pulling Matilda to her feet. "We know it's not the right time, it just sort of hit us–"

"It's not that." Said Neville softly.

The girls frowned.

"It's not?" they said.

"No." agreed Hermione.

"Why didn't you tell us?" demanded Ron.

"Yeah, how could you keep that a secret?" cried Euterpe, who was crying. "We're supposed to be your best friends!"

"But…what do you mean?" Matilda asked, completely lost.

"That you lived in a cupboard!" cried Neville.

"And had to cook and clean all the time!" Aaric said, looking very pale.

"And got beaten up!" added Millie.

"And didn't get any food!" Hermione said.

"We weren't trying to hide it!" said Tabitha. "We just didn't want it spread around, I mean, it's not like our Aunt and Uncle hit us much or _completely _starved us…"

"_Much_?" Ron said in a whimper.

"But that's still a big deal!" cried Hermione.

"You have to tell Professor Dumbledore!" said Euterpe. "When we get back…if we get back, you have to tell him!"

"I'm sure he'd talk to them!" agreed Hermione. "At least about not feeding you and everything!"

The girls were stunned. Never before had someone cared about them, let alone this many people. But then they thought…Hagrid cared about them, and so did Charity…and perhaps even Professor McGonagall, in her own way. At least they would care if they lived or died, unlike the Dursleys.

"All right," said Matilda finally.

"We'll talk to Dumbledore, but first we have to get through this thing, and we're wasting time!" said Tabitha firmly.

Everyone looked appeased as they continued into the tunnel.

After awhile, Ron said, "Do you guys hear something?"

It was a soft, fluttering sound, like thousands of butterflies.

"Do you think it's a ghost?" asked Neville nervously.

"I don't know…sounds like wings to me." Millie said, straining to listen.

"There's an opening ahead…I can see light!" cried Euterpe.

When they reached the opening up ahead, there was a brilliantly lit chamber with a very high ceiling. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, all fluttering around. At the other end was a door.

"Do you think they'll attack if we try to get across?" asked Ron.

"Probably." Said Tabitha. "We'll have to risk it – we'll run."

They all took off, hands over their heads, expecting to feel sharp beaks and claws any second, but nothing happened. They reached the door unscratched, and Aaric pulled on it. It wouldn't budge.

They all tried. Hermione's Alohomora charm wouldn't work, and Millie even tried kicking it, but nothing happened.

Neville was staring at the birds, and suddenly cried, "They're not birds – they're keys!"

And they were; hundreds of tiny keys with wings attached to them.

"Look – brooms!" cried Euterpe. There were indeed five brooms stacked against one wall.

Since Matilda, Tabitha, Euterpe Ron, and Millie were the best fliers, they grabbed the brooms and kicked off.

"We're looking for an old one!" called Hermione. "Probably silver, like the handle!"

They swooped and dived, but the keys were fast.

After only a minute, Matilda spotted it.

"There!" she called to the others. "The big one with bright blue wings! Look, it has a bent wing!"

They managed to corner it, and Tabitha grabbed it just as Euterpe dodged an attacking key and slipped off her broom, falling at least twenty feet.

Everyone cried out in fear, but it was Neville who said, "I've got you!" and ran to catch her.

There was a thump.

Neville, being a little on the chubby side, had managed to break Euterpe's fall, and was now unconscious on the floor.

They checked him, but he only seemed to have been knocked out.

"Should we try to wake him?" asked Matilda nervously.

"No," said Hermione firmly. "It might not be good for his brain. He should be okay until we can take him to Madam Pomfrey though…"

The eight shared looks. They didn't want to leave Neville, but they had no choice. They didn't know who they would need in the next obstacles.

The next room was dark as they entered, but as soon as they stepped inside, the torches revealed an astonishing sight.

They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all much taller than the children were and carved from what looked like black stone. They shivered slightly – the white chessmen across the way had no faces.

"Now what?" asked Tabitha, her eyes fixed on the faceless queen.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Ron said. "We've got to play our way across the room."

"How?" asked Hermione nervously, wringing her hands together.

"I think…" said Aaric slowly. "I think we're supposed to be chessmen."

Ron walked up to a black night and put his hand out to touch the horse. Immediately the figure sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his head to look down at Ron.

"Do we – er – do we have to join you to get across?"

The knight nodded. Ron turned to the others and immediately began instructing them to replace various pieces. When they were all situated, Ron said, "White always goes first, see?"

Sure enough, the pieces across the board were beginning to move. Ron began ordering them around, and everyone listened to him. The first time one of the black pieces were taken, Hermione, Euterpe, and Matilda all screamed. The white pieces were merciless – they took nearly as many black pieces as Ron and Aaric (who was also quite good at chess) took white ones. Several times, Ron barely noticed that one of the others were in danger in time.

"We're nearly there," Ron said suddenly. "Let me think…hmm…"

Aaric looked at him. He didn't speak, but they seemed to share a chess-players-only message, because Ron sighed.

"Yes…it's the only way." He said with resignation. "I've got to be taken."

"NO!" the twins shouted from their places as castles.

"You can't, Ron!" cried Hermione, who was a bishop and nearly to the other side of the board already.

"No way!" Euterpe-the-temporary-pawn agreed loudly. Aaric (who played a knight like Ron) simply looked grim.

"That's chess!" Ron snapped. "You've got to make sacrifices! After I make my move, the queen'll take me. Tabitha, that leaves you to check the king."

"But–" began Tabitha.

"Do you want to stop Snape from getting the Stone or not?" Ron demanded.

"Ron–" began Hermione, looking tearful.

"Look, if you guys don't hurry, he'll get the Stone!"

Ron was right, they knew. There was no way around it.

"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale yet determined. "Here I go – don't you hang around once you've won."

He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the face with her stone arm. The other six screamed. Ron fell to the floor unconscious, and the queen dragged him to the side.

Shaking, Tabitha moved to the spot Ron had indicated.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at Tabitha's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With a last desperate look at Ron, Tabitha, Matilda, Hermione, Aaric, Millie, and Euterpe ran through the door and into the next passageway.

"What if he's–" started Hermione.

"He'll be fine." Said Tabitha firmly, trying to convince herself.

"What do you think is next?" asked Aaric.

"Well, we had Sprout's – that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must have charmed the keys, and McGonagall transfigured the chess pieces, that leaves Charity's, Quirrell's, Snape's, and Sinistra's." said Hermione.

The next room was by far the strangest.

It contained a pile of clothes, a Muggle washing machine, and a Muggle drier.

"What the–" began Millie, but a voice that seemed to come from the washing machine rang out.

"_If passage through is what you seek, you must step forward and conquer me." _It said, the lid moving as it spoke.

"You mean…we have to wash the clothes?" asked Euterpe incredulously.

"_Yes." _Answered the washer. _"I can let all of you go forward but one. One must stay until it is done, or the fate of the others will be most…unpleasant."_

"One," murmured Tabitha, silently cursing Charity. "Okay. Any volunteers?"

"Our Aunt and Uncle wouldn't let us near their clothes…they thought we'd ruin them." Matilda said.

"I know how to do it," offered Hermione. "I'll make sure it gets done. This is the least dangerous task we've had to do so far."

"Charity _would _do something like this." Tabitha said, thinking about the woman in question. There were probably few people that Charity would try and harm at all.

"But how did Snape do it?" wondered Aaric.

"Maybe he bewitched it." Suggested Millie.

"You need to _go_." Said Hermione firmly, already separating the clothes into darks and lights. "We don't know how far he's gotten yet. He could already be at the end!"

The others agreed and, bidding farewell to Hermione, continued down the next passage.

They stopped at another heavy wood door.

"Okay…brace yourselves." Warned Matilda, and yanked it open.

Immediately, they were sucked into blackness. They tried to whirl around and run back out, but they were floating, and there was no around. It was completely black.

"What?" cried Euterpe.

"Where are we?" yelled Millie.

Suddenly, bright spots of light appeared around them, and a voice said, _"Find Betelgeuse." _

"Who was that?" demanded Aaric.

"What's a beetle juice?" said Matilda.

They could see each other now, just barely, by the lights of the little dots.

"I know!" Euterpe suddenly cried. "It's a solar system! Professor Sinistra! We have to find the stars!" she frowned for a second, then grinned and made swimming movements with her hands over a few feet. "Betelgeuse…here!" she said, touching it.

"_Correct." _Said the voice, _"Find Electra."_

"Taurus, near Taurus…" murmured Euterpe, swimming around in space as the others watched nervously. "Here! Electra!"

She poked it, and again the voice said, _"Correct. Find Hamal." _

And so it went on for about three more minutes. Euterpe found all the stars but one, and finally the voice said they could go, and the kids suddenly found themselves falling through the air, only to land in what looked like a classroom. Euterpe was missing, and they hoped it was because of the question she missed, and that she wouldn't be stuck in space forever…or worse.

"There can't be many left, can there?" asked Millie, panting slightly.

"I think – wait, do you smell that?" said Matilda.

They opened the door, and saw a troll.

A fully grown troll, and he was mad.

They didn't have books, but the four of them ran through its legs, waving their arms and casting spells to confuse it until it caught Aaric in the head with its club. He fell to the floor, the third of the friends that night to be knocked out.

Spurred by anger, Tabitha, Matilda, and Millie managed to case a stunning spell and knock it out.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" whispered Millie.

"Yeah," said Tabitha, bending over the blonde boy. "There's a lump on his head, but it's not big."

"We need to hurry." Said Matilda, grabbing the other two, and they stepped into the next room, hardly daring to look at what came next.

Inside was simply a table with seven different coloured and shaped bottles sitting on it.

"Snape's," said Tabitha. "What do we have to do?"

They stepped over the threshold, an immediately a fire sprang up behind them, and not just any fire, a purple one. The same second, black flames shot up in the doorway in front of them. They were trapped.

"Look!" Millie seized a paper lying in front of the bottles, and they all read.

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you will find._

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead._

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide,_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those that stand on either end,_

_But if you would move forward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different sizes,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant hold death on their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"This isn't magic – its logic. A puzzle!" gasped Millie. "A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be in here forever."

"But so will we, won't we?" Matilda said.

"No." said Tabitha firmly. "We can figure it out."

They re–read the list several times, discussing and arguing and almost gave up when they all suddenly paused. The twins and Millie exclaimed in unison, "I've got it!"

"The smallest bottle will get us to the Stone," said Matilda, grinning.

"And that round one will get us back." Tabitha smiled.

They looked at the tiny bottle. There was maybe enough for two people to sip. The other one was much larger.

"We can all drink it and get to the Stone…" said Millie slowly. "But I don't think we should."

"What?!" exclaimed the twins.

"Let Snape get it?"

"Have you gone mad?"

"No, hold on," said Millie placating. "I just meant…I don't think we should all go. I think you two are meant to go forward alone. I'll go find the others."

The twins were about to protest, but they stopped themselves. Millie was right – they had to go alone.

"Okay," Matilda agreed. "You, Hermione, and Euterpe can take the others on brooms back through the trap door."

"Send a letter to Dumbledore," Tabitha advised. "And get Madam Pomfrey."

"Right," said Millie shakily. She looked uncertain for a moment, then lunged forward and hugged them – first Matilda, then Tabitha.

"I love you guys." She said firmly. "You had better not die."

And with that she drank the potion and ran through the fire.

Matilda was slightly dazed.

"What do you think–?"

"Never mind that for now," said Tabitha. "Snape, remember?"

"Right!" Matilda agreed.

One at a time they grabbed the bottle and took a sip each, then stepped through the black flames.

They gasped when they passed through them, because it wasn't Snape in the next room. It wasn't even Voldemort.

It was Quirrell.

"_You_!"they gasped.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me." He said calmly. "I was wondering when I'd be–"

But their momentary shock had worn off.

"Expeliarmis!" cried Tabitha, and Quirrell's wand flew out of his hand and into Matilda's. She snapped it.

"No!" roared Quirrell, "You insolent brats!" he moved towards them, but they raised their wands at him.

"Don't move." Said Matilda.

"We suspected you, at first, but Snape…"

"Ah yes, Severus." Quirrell chuckled, "He suspected me from the beginning. The Quidditch matches, the troll on Halloween…"

"That was you at the match!" cried Tabitha.

"We saw you, but we didn't think…"

"And the troll! Snape's leg! That's why he went to the third floor!"

"Yes, yes, yes," said Quirrell impatiently. "But it was all a waste, because now I'm going to kill you both tonight."

Before they could move, Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes appeared, tying the girls up, and their wands fell out of their hands.

He grinned as the twins struggled. "I'm so glad the Dark Lord got rid of the other one now…I can't imagine having to deal with three of you…"

They froze.

"What do you mean, the other one?" demanded Tabitha.

Quirrell laughed.

"Dumbledore hasn't told you? Pity…but I suppose people don't concern themselves too much with The Boy Who Died; much less exciting that The Girls Who Lived."

Both of the twins saw red even as they wondered what in the world Quirrell was talking about.

"Now wait _quietly_. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that the twins realized what was standing behind them: it was the Mirror of Erised.

"The mirror is the key to finding the stone…" Quirrell murmured, "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this…but he's in London…I'll be far away by the time he gets back…"

The girls knew they had to distract Quirrell, so they kept him talking, mentioning how they had seen him and Snape in the forest. He murmured about how Snape suspected him, but he wasn't frightened since he had Voldemort on his side.

"I see the stone…I'm presenting it to my master…but where is it?" he murmured, looking eagerly into the mirror.

"But Snape always seemed to hate us so much," said Tabitha.

"Oh, he does, heavens, yes." Said Quirrell. "He was in the same year as your father. They loathed each other….but he didn't want you _dead. _In fact, he was good friends with your mother for awhile. Perhaps he has a soft spot…" Quirrell chuckled again. The girls tried to ignore this new piece of information, saving it to be considered later.

"But we heard you a few days ago – sobbing. We thought Snape was there with you." Said Matilda.

"Sometimes," Quirrell said, now pale and looking a bit scared. "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions…he is a great wizard and I am weak…"

"You mean he was in the classroom with you?" gasped Matilda.

"He is with me wherever I go…." Said Quirrell, and went into an explanation of his shortcomings and how he had failed to rob Gringotts, resulting in his 'master' wanting to keep a closer eye on him.

The twins were feeling extremely stupid. They had seen Quirrell in the Leaky Cauldron that day! Had shaken hands with him!

"What does the mirror do?" Quirrell finally cried in exhaustion. "How does it work? Help me, master!"

And to Tabitha's and Matilda's horror, a voice answered, and it seemed to come from Quirrell himself.

"The girls…use the girls…"

Quirrell rounded on the girls.

"Yes, come here!"

He clapped his hands, and the ropes around the two girls vanished, but their wands flew into his hand.

"Come here, both of you." Quirrell commanded.

They looked at each other, then, deciding they had no other choice, got to their feet and walked slowly over to the mirror. Quirrell stepped aside.

"Tell me what you see!"

They both knew that what they wanted more than anything right now was to find the stone before Quirrell. They simply had to lie.

They saw their reflections, pale and looking scared. After a second, however, Mirror Matilda smiled, put her hand in her pocket, and drew out a blood-red stone, which she handed to Mirror Tabitha, who took it, and put it in her skirt pocket – at the same time, Tabitha felt something heavy drop into her own pocket – _they'd gotten the stone!_

"Well?" demanded Quirrell, "What do you see?"

"Our family," answered Matilda, looking awestruck at the mirror. It was quite convincing, really. "All of them…our parents are there, and our grandparents…"

Quirrell cursed and shoved them out of the way. Tabitha could feel the stone against her leg – dare they make a break for it?

They hadn't taken five steps when the voice said:

"They lie…they lie…"

"Come back here, Potters'!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me what you see!"

"Let me talk to them…face to face…" the voice said slowly.

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell disagreed, suddenly looking nervous again.

"I have strength enough…for this…"

Feeling like they were rooted by cement, the girl watched, terrified, as Quirrell reached up and slowly unwrapped his turban. What was going on? Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it…and then he turned.

They would have screamed, but they couldn't move a muscle. Where the back of Quirrell's head should have been, there was a face, chalk white with glowing red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Tabitha and Matilda Potter…" it whispered.

They tried to take a step back but their legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said, "Mere shadow and vapor…I have form only when I can share another's body…but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds…Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks…you saw faithful Quirrell drinking for me in the forest…and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own…Now…why don't you give me that stone in your pocket, Tabitha Potter?"

So he knew. The feelings suddenly surged back into their legs, and they stumbled backwards.

"Don't be fools," snarled the face. "Better to save your own lives and join me…or you'll meet the same end as your parents and sibling…of course your brother was too young to speak, but James and Lily died begging for mercy…"

"LIAR!" They both shouted, unable to help themselves. Their hands quickly grabbed each other almost of their own accord; it was their bodies' default setting for when the twins were upset.

Quirrell was walking backwards, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching…" it hissed. "I always value bravery…Yes, children, your parents were brave…I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight…but your mother needn't have died…she was trying to protect you…Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!" Tabitha cried.

They sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed, "SEIZE THEM!" and the next second, the girls felt a hand close on each of their wrists. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across their scars; their heads felt like they were going to split in two. They struggled with all their might, and to their surprise, Quirrell released them. The pain lessened – they looked around for Quirrell, and saw him hunched over in pain, looking at his fingers, which were blistering before his eyes.

"Seize them! SEIZE THEM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged again, knocking Matilda into Tabitha, and landing on them both, on hand around each of their necks. Though their scars were searing with pain again, they could see Quirrell howling in agony.

"Master, I cannot hold them – my hands – my hands!"

"Then kill them, fool, and be done!" screamed Voldemort.

Quirrell raised Tabitha's wand to perform the deadly curse, but the girls both reached up and grabbed his face –

"AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled of them, his face blistering too, and they knew: Quirrell couldn't touch them without being burned. Their only chance was to keep touching him, distract him from doing the curse.

Both girls jumped up and grabbed Quirrell's arms. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw them off – the pain in their lightning-bolt scars was building – they couldn't see – they could only hear Quirrell's terrible screams and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL THEM! KILL THEM!" and other voices, they thought were probably in their heads, crying, "Tabitha! Matilda!"

They felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from their grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down…down…down…


	20. The Truth

**Chapter 20: The Truth**

Something gold was glittering above them. The Snitch! Tabitha tried to catch it, but her arms were too heavy.

They blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.

They blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above them.

"Good afternoon, Tabitha and Matilda," said Dumbledore.

They stared at him. Then they remembered.

"Sir! The Stone!" Matilda cried.

"It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone!" said Tabitha urgently.

"Calm yourselves. You are a little behind the times." said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the stone."

"Then who does? Sir, we–"

"Girls, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out."

They looked around, and realized they must be in the hospital wing. They were lying in two separate beds drawn close together, Dumbledore on a chair between them. At the foot of their beds were tables filled with cards and what looked like half a candy shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers." Said Dumbledore, beaming, "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have we been in here?" asked Matilda.

"Three days. Your friends will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."

"But sir, the Stone–" began Tabitha.

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing well on your own, I must say."

"You made it? You got their owl?"

"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you–"

"It was _you._" Matilda said in a whisper.

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, we couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer–"

"Not the Stone, girls, you – the effort involved nearly killed you both. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had." Dumbledore said. His eyes had most decidedly lost their twinkle. "As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" said Matilda blankly.

"But your friend, Nicholas Flamel–"

"Oh, you know about Nicholas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You _did _do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicholas and I had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir stored to settle their affairs, and then, yes, they will die."

The girls thought about this. They couldn't imagine just being completely okay with dying after over six hundred years, but they thought that, to Nicholas and Perenelle, it would be like going to sleep after a very long day.

"After all," said Dumbledore, smiling, "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was not really such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack for choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."

"Sir," said Tabitha hesitantly. "Quirrell told us something–"

"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore sadly. The twinkle in his blue eyes was gone. "Yes, I'd never quite suspected Quirrell as the culprit, but there you are."

"Why didn't anyone ever tell us?" demanded Matilda.

"Well, that is a long story," Dumbledore said, "But I suppose it's time you to hear it.

"Well, let's see…Your mother became pregnant just shortly after she had you two. About a year after you went into hiding, Voldemort found you. My suspicion is that your mother was upstairs with the two of you, and your father was downstairs with your brother – Harry was his name. Voldemort no doubt blew down the door, and took care of your father and brother, before going upstairs…I believe Harry was…forgotten, so to speak, in the pandemonium of Voldemort's 'defeat' and your survival. After all, only a handful of people had even seen the boy."

The twins were stunned.

"But…sir, if you knew, why didn't you tell anyone?" asked Tabitha.

"I thought it would be better for the two of you to decide – when you were ready – if you wanted the world to know about Harry." He said. "Very few people know this, and I have asked those people to keep it to themselves. It is entirely your decision."

"Where – I mean…where are they–"

Dumbledore it seemed, understood Matilda's stuttered question.

"You parents and brother are buried in the town of Godric's Hollow, where your house was." Dumbledore said. "I suppose you would like to see them, perhaps?"

"Yes!" they cried immediately.

"Very well. I shall see what I can arrange this summer. Meanwhile, you two have an important decision to make."

He looked at them pointedly, his eyes sparkling again. They girls had a feeling that he already knew what they would say.

"Yes," said Tabitha.

"We want people to know about Harry." Agreed Matilda.

"He should be remembered too."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I'll take care of that for you." He promised. "Now, I believe your friends will be ambushing you soon, so is there anything else you wish to ask?"

"Yes –"

"– If the Stone is gone, does that mean that Vol– I mean, You–Know–Who –"

"Call him Voldemort, Matilda. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes sir. Well, Voldemort is going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he's not gone for good is he?"

"No, he is not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share…not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies. Nevertheless, Tabitha, Matilda, while you two may have delayed his return to power it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems like a loosing battle next time – and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."

They nodded, but stopped quickly because it made their heads hurt. Then Tabitha said, "Sir, there are some other things we'd like to know, if you can tell us…things we want to know the truth about."

"The truth," Dumbledore sighed, "Is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer you questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Well…Voldemort said he only killed our mother because she tried to stop him from killing us. But why would he want to kill us in the first place?" asked Tabitha.

Dumbledore sighed very deeply.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not now, not today. You will know one day…put it from your mind for now. When you are older…I know you hate to hear this…when you are ready, you will know."

The twins decided to just shrug it off. At least Dumbledore wasn't patronizing them and telling them he knew best and all.

Tabitha asked, "But why couldn't Quirrell touch us?"

"You mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love that is as powerful as you mother's for you leaves its own mark. No, not a scar," He said, when the girls both touched their lightning-bolt scars. "No visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person – or persons – marked by something so good."

Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out of the windowsill, which gave Tabitha and Matilda time to dry their eyes on the sheets. When they had found their voices again, Matilda said, "And the Invisibility Cloak – do you know who sent it to us?"

"Ah – your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things…your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food while he was here."

"There's something else."

"Fire away." Dumbledore said cheerfully.

"Snape and Quirrell,"

"_Professor _Snape, Tabitha."

"Yes, him – Quirrell said he hates us because he hated our father–"

"But that he doesn't want us to die because he was friends with our mother." Interrupted Matilda.

Dumbledore turned slightly pink, cleared his throat, and said, "Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourselves and Misters Nott and Malfoy. And then, your father did something that Snape could never forgive."

"What?" Tabitha asked interestedly.

"He saved his life."

"_What_?" gasped Matilda.

"Yes…" said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt…I do believe he worked so hard to protect you – not only because of his…er, his _friendship_ with your mother – but because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating you father's memory in peace…"

"And sir, there's one more thing…"

"Just the one?" the headmaster asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well…" Matilda looked at Tabitha. "Maybe two…"

"How did we get the Stone out of the mirror?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you two and myself, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find _the stone – find it, not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking the Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes…" he looked at them, smiling. "I believe there was one more?"

"Yes," said Tabitha. "We sort of promised our friends we'd tell you…"

"Well…our Aunt and Uncle don't always treat us very well, you see…"

"I mean, recently, we've gotten to move into a bedroom, but before we were living in a cupboard."

"And doing all their chores and cooking."

"And they didn't give us much to eat."

"And…well, sometimes we got locked in the cupboard for misbehaving."

"And they would let our cousin beat us up all the time – and sometimes ask him too –"

"– Our aunt hit us pretty often as well, if we talked back or did something wrong."

"And they also refuse to take us to doctors when we're sick or hurt."

"But now we have the room…though there are locks on the doors and bars on the windows, but it's bigger..."

Dumbledore's face was frozen, unreadable, and the girls hurriedly said.

"We wouldn't have said anything, but they made us promise."

"It's not that important, really–"

Dumbledore held up his hand.

"I apologize," he said, his eyes looking slightly watery. "I didn't know you were being mistreated like this. The school letters are addressed by a magical quill, you see. Charity did inform me that they hadn't given you a proper room, but a _cupboard_…" he shuddered. "I had no idea you two were being mistreated in such a fashion." The girls started to protest, but he cut them off. "A lack of proper amounts of food and being locked away from the world is considered mistreatment." He said. "Not to mention hitting you and denying medical care. I shall write to your Aunt, and remind her that the two of you are her nieces…and that you now are trained witches."

He smiled now, but the girls were confused.

"But we're not allowed to do magic away from school!" said Tabitha.

"Yes, but your Aunt and Uncle don't know that." He winked, then seemed to force his face into a happy expression. "Now, enough questions. I suggest you two make a start on these sweats. Ah, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans! I was most unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit-flavoured one. Since then, I fear I have rather lost my liking for them. But I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

He smiled and popped a golden–brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"

Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a very nice woman, but very strict.

"Just five minutes." Matilda pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Professor Dumbledore in!" cried Tabitha.

"Well of course, the Headmaster…quite different. You two need rest!"

"We are resting, look, lying down and everything! We won't even lift our heads! Please, Madam Pomfrey…"

"Oh, all right," she said, "But five minutes _only."_

And she let them in. Hermione was first, with Ron, Aaric, Millie, Euterpe and Neville on her heels. Behind them were Morrissey, Mandy, Morag, Terry, and Michael.

"Tabitha, Matilda!" everyone cried at once, and they all looked as if they wanted to hug them, but the twins were glad they held themselves back, as their heads were still very sore.

"Three days!"

"We were so worried!"

"Dumbledore wasn't sure if he'd gotten there soon enough–"

"Something about a Stone, we looked it up –"

"_Three days_!"

"The whole school is talking about it. What really happened?"

They told them the whole story of Quirrell and Voldemort, even reciting almost word–for–word what Quirrell had said about their brother. The others were a very good audience; they were astonished beyond belief to find out that the twins had another sibling, and when Matilda got to the part about what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione, Neville, and Mandy screamed.

"So what happened to you guys?" asked Tabitha when they finished.

"Well, we got back all right," said Millie, "I went to get Aaric first, then we found Euterpe in the space room, picked up Hermione–"

"The clothes were perfect," said Hermione proudly.

"–got Ron and then Neville and took turns flying out."

"We were going in the entrance hall on the way to the Owlery, and we met Professor Dumbledore." Ron said.

"He said, 'They've gone after him, haven't they?' and ran off." Added Neville.

"Do you think he meant you to do it?" asked Aaric, "Sending you your dad's Cloak and everything…"

"_Well_,"Hermione exploded, "If he did – I mean to say – that's terrible! You could have been killed!"

"No it isn't," said Matilda thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore…"

"I think he sort of wanted to give us a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on her, you know."

"I bet he had a pretty good idea what we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he taught us just enough to help."

"I don't think it was an accident he let us find out how to mirror worked. It's almost like he thought we had to right to face Voldemort if we could."

"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course – you missed the last Quidditch match, Euterpe substituted for you, but we were still flattened by Ravenclaw."

"You did?" Tabitha asked Euterpe, eyebrows raised.

She blushed. "Yeah…I wasn't that good though…"

"Nonsense," Neville said, "You barely missed the snitch."

Euterpe's blush darkened.

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT!" she said firmly.


	21. The End-Of-Year Feast

**Chapter 22: The End**

Tabitha and Matilda had almost forgotten that the exams results were still to come, but come they did. Hermione and Terry tied for top marks of the first years. Euterpe and Michael tied for second, and Morrissey got third best marks. The twins, to their surprise, got forth best, and even Neville made the top ten, thanks to his amazing Herbology score.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Trevor was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that had sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts express; talking and laughing while all the friends (plus five Ravenclaws) ate Bertie Botts Beans as they sped past Muggle towns, and then they were pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station.

It took a while for them all to get of the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gates in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"You all have to come and stay this summer," said Ron, "I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Tabitha. "We'll need something to look forward to."

People called to them as they waited:

"By Tabitha, Matilda!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous." Said Millie, grinning at them.

"Not where we're going, I promise you," said Matilda.

The twins and Ron passed through the barrier together, followed by the others three by three.

"Tabitha! Matilda!" cried Ginny, running forward to hug them.

"Hi Ginny," the girls said at once.

Mrs. Weasley came over to them and smiled.

"Busy year?"

"Very," answered Tabitha.

"Thanks for the fudge and the sweaters, Mrs. Weasley." Matilda said.

"Oh, it was nothing, dears." She smiled.

"Ready, are you?"

It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of the twins, carrying one owl and two sloths in cages in a station full of normal people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of the twins. They grinned.

"You must be Tabitha's and Matilda's family!" said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully, holding out a hand.

"In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon, ignoring Mrs. Weasleys offered hand, which clearly offended her. She huffed. "Hurry up, girls, we haven't got all day." He walked away.

The twins hung back, hugging all Ron, Hermione, Aaric, Neville, Millie, Euterpe, Morrissey, Mandy, Morag, and Terry and Michael (though they blushed terribly at this).

"See you over the summer, then," said Tabitha.

"Hope you have – er – a good holiday." Said Hermione, looking uncertainly at Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.

The girls shared a look, grinning.

"Oh, we will," said Matilda, grinning.

"_They _don't know we're not allowed to do magic at home."

With that they were off, to – what the twins thought– was going to be a very humorous holiday.

* * *

_**Answers to all reviews: **_

The Submarauder: Thank you very much! I have done a sequel; the Twins Who Lived and the Chamber of Secrets. It's not finished yet, however.

Not-A-Spy: Thanks...i think? Yes, I hate stories like that too.

Guest: Actually, I do have several mental disabilities, but that has nothing to do with my story. Just because the characters listed are Harry and Hermione does not mean it is a Harry/Hermione pairing, which I'm pretty sure every knows but you. Go ahead and report me, but it won't do a thing.

Wrabbit75, DarkSudi: Thanks; I have fixed the chapters.

Fandals: Oh, is it? You mean similar to nearly every Harry-is-a-twin story out there? Because they all follow the same plot? Because yes, in that case it is. BUT I highly doubt that others had Millicent Bulstrode and a younger brother, and I really don't see how I am copying any story in particular (apart from the main one).

.panda: Thank you. It was a simple ordering mistake that was fixed almost immediately.

OphyBoing: Wow, alright, another long-ago mistake from an american mind. Won't happen again.

Steady Silence: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like them!

dopey4dobby: Thank you so much again!

lilyellowcrayon: Thanks! I just thought it made sense; it's what I would have done, at least...

**Thanks once more to everyone who reviewed, favourited, followed, and enjoyed this story! Check out the now-edited sequel, The Twins Who Lived and the Chamber of Secrets!**


	22. The End

**Chapter 22: The End**

Tabitha and Matilda had almost forgotten that the exams results were still to come, but come they did. Hermione and Terry tied for top marks of the first years. Euterpe and Michael tied for second, and Morrissey got third best marks. The twins, to their surprise, got forth best, and even Neville made the top ten, thanks to his amazing Herbology score.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Trevor was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that had sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts express; talking and laughing while all the friends (plus five Ravenclaws) ate Bertie Botts Beans as they sped past Muggle towns, and then they were pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross station.

It took a while for them all to get of the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gates in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"You all have to come and stay this summer," said Ron, "I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Tabitha. "We'll need something to look forward to."

People called to them as they waited:

"By Tabitha, Matilda!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous." Said Millie, grinning at them.

"Not where we're going, I promise you," said Matilda.

The twins and Ron passed through the barrier together, followed by the others three by three.

"Tabitha! Matilda!" cried Ginny, running forward to hug them.

"Hi Ginny," the girls said at once.

Mrs. Weasley came over to them and smiled.

"Busy year?"

"Very," answered Tabitha.

"Thanks for the fudge and the sweaters, Mrs. Weasley." Matilda said.

"Oh, it was nothing, dears." She smiled.

"Ready, are you?"

It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of the twins, carrying one owl and two sloths in cages in a station full of normal people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of the twins. They grinned.

"You must be Tabitha's and Matilda's family!" said Mrs. Weasley cheerfully, holding out a hand.

"In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon, ignoring Mrs. Weasleys offered hand, which clearly offended her. She huffed. "Hurry up, girls, we haven't got all day." He walked away.

The twins hung back, hugging all Ron, Hermione, Aaric, Neville, Millie, Euterpe, Morrissey, Mandy, Morag, and Terry and Michael (though they blushed terribly at this).

"See you over the summer, then," said Tabitha.

"Hope you have – er – a good holiday." Said Hermione, looking uncertainly at Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.

The girls shared a look, grinning.

"Oh, we will," said Matilda, grinning.

"_They _don't know we're not allowed to do magic at home."

With that they were off, to – what the twins thought– was going to be a very humorous holiday.

* * *

_**Answers to all reviews: **_

The Submarauder: Thank you very much! I have done a sequel; the Twins Who Lived and the Chamber of Secrets. It's not finished yet, however.

Not-A-Spy: Thanks...i think? Yes, I hate stories like that too.

Guest: Actually, I do have several mental disabilities, but that has nothing to do with my story. Just because the characters listed are Harry and Hermione does not mean it is a Harry/Hermione pairing, which I'm pretty sure every knows but you. Go ahead and report me, but it won't do a thing.

Wrabbit75, DarkSudi: Thanks; I have fixed the chapters.

Fandals: Oh, is it? You mean similar to nearly every Harry-is-a-twin story out there? Because they all follow the same plot? Because yes, in that case it is. BUT I highly doubt that others had Millicent Bulstrode and a younger brother, and I really don't see how I am copying any story in particular (apart from the main one).

.panda: Thank you. It was a simple ordering mistake that was fixed almost immediately.

OphyBoing: Wow, alright, another long-ago mistake from an american mind. Won't happen again.

Steady Silence: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like them!

dopey4dobby: Thank you so much again!

lilyellowcrayon: Thanks! I just thought it made sense; it's what I would have done, at least...

**Thanks once more to everyone who reviewed, favourited, followed, and enjoyed this story! Check out the now-edited sequel, The Twins Who Lived and the Chamber of Secrets!**


End file.
